A 14-year-old boy was arrested on Monday in connection with the rape of a young woman in Germany.

The prosecutor said that the boy was arrested, due to concerns he could become a repeat offender, adding that the boy was known to police for sexual harassment on two other occasions but under German law, he was not old enough to be prosecuted on those occasions.

The age of criminal responsibility in Germany is 14, he added.

However, the arrested teenager is one of five suspects of the rape case; three 14-year-olds and two 12-year-olds who are all of Bulgarian nationality.

The teenagers are suspected of raping an 18-year-old woman in a wooded area near a playground in the north-western town of Muelheim in North-Rhine Westphalia on Friday evening.

The Local government in Dusseldorf confirmed that the suspects had previously been questioned by police and then returned to their parents after which they were suspended from school.

Two of the five suspects had been known to the Youth Welfare Office (Jugendamt), which had been active in their families.

The Youth Welfare Office was asked to contact the families along with local social services in order to offer help and support, a local spokeswoman said on Monday.

“It is possible that the children will be taken into care,’’ she said.

Police confirmed that the victim left the hospital on Saturday, after being treated. Investigators declined to give out information about the young woman, citing victim protection concerns.