German Teenager Admits to Lying about Gang-Rape Story, Official Says

The teenager from Germany, who claimed she was kidnapped and raped by a group of migrant men, has admitted to fabricating the entire story, an official revealed on Monday.

The 13-year-old Russian-German girl's story had sparked outrage in Russia, creating tensions between the country and Germany. The girl, who is only identified as "Lisa," was reported missing on Jan. 11. The girl showed up about 30 hours after her disappearance with injuries to her face. She told German officials three men, who looked Middle Eastern or North African, had sexually abused her in a car near a train station in Berlin.

The German media had reported that there was no evidence that a sexual assault had occurred. The spokesman for the prosecutor's office in Berlin, Martin Steltner, stated that the girl had withdrew her claim after her medical examination did not show signs of a rape. He added that after three days of careful questioning at the hands of trained investigators, the girl admitted to lying about the story.

The investigation then hinted at the possibility that the girl could have made up the story in order to cover up the fact that she had slept with an older man. In Germany, the age of consent is 14.

Russian coverage of the story, however, was starkly different. The rape story was circulated throughout social media, leading many people from Russian-German communities to carry out protests. The Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov also commented on the case, claiming that Germany was trying to cover up a horrible incident. Germany then accused Russia of using the story as a political tactic.

Russia has not commented about the case after the German police investigation found, with the help of phone records, that she was staying with a man during that night. The man and his mother have since confirmed that the girl was with him. They added that no sexual activity happened.

The investigation also concluded that the girl had slept with two men months before the night of her disappearance. Steltner said that both men, one of who is of Turkish descent, admitted to having sexual relations with the girl.