Sexual assault victim faces police fine in Denmark

A TEENAGER who was brutally sexually assaulted in Denmark will be prosecuted for using pepper spray to fight off her attacker.

The 17-year-old told police that she was attacked near a migrant asylum centre in the coastal town of Sønderborg by an English-speaking man who knocked her to the ground, unbuttoned her pants and tried to undress her.

The girl used pepper spray to fend off her attacker, who fled the scene.
But in a bizarre twist, police said they would prosecute the girl for the illegal use of pepper spray.

“It is illegal to possess and use pepper spray, so she will likely be charged for that,” local police spokesman Knud Kirsten said.

It is likely the girl will be slapped with a 500 krone ($A103) fine.

The man who attacked the girl has not yet been charged. It is not known if he was an asylum seeker or refugee.

The case has sparked controversy in Denmark, with members of the public so outraged by the girl’s fine they have offered to pay it themselves, Denmark’s English language news network The Local reported.

Reports of sexual assaults in Sønderborg and other Danish cities are reportedly on the rise, with many women reporting they have felt harassed by the aggressive behaviour of male asylum seekers.

The Buddy Holly nightclub in Sønderborg is now refusing entry to patrons who cannot speak Danish, English or German.

The attack on the teenager comes as Denmark’s parliament voted in favour of controversial new laws that would see asylum seekers stripped of their cash and valuables worth more than $2000 at the border.

The reforms are aimed at dissuading refugees and migrants from seeking asylum and also include provisions to delay family reunifications by up to three years.