Thieves bare it all in ATM heists

PARIS, France — Teenage suspects were questioned about robberies involving a flasher bandit who bared her breasts to distract unsuspecting victims at ATM machines before stealing their cash, according to media reports.

A public prosecutor for minors questioned two 14-year-old girls before releasing them, Le Parisien newspaper reported on its site, while a 12-year-old boy, apparently an accomplice, was placed in a group home.

In one case that took place Aug. 7, one of the girls tried to distract a man as he withdrew money from an ATM machine by placing a petition in front of him after he entered his pin code. When the man, sensing trouble, rebuffed the intrusion the girl exposed her chest andtouched the man’s genitals while her accomplice took about 300 euros before they fled.

In another robbery last week, which unfolded in much the same way, the victim was a woman who was robbed of 500 euros, the newspaper reported.

That the crimes took place in my district seemed less of a coincidence now given an incident last week involving two young girls hanging outside of my bank.

I could sense right away that something was wrong and decided to test my suspicion. After withdrawing money from an ATM machine inside the bank, I stepped outside and pretended to use an outdoor machine near the entrance. I pulled out my card to insert it but feigned receiving
a text message instead. In that short span of time, the two girls who had been sitting on a sidewalk at a safe distance just moments before had moved in closer behind me, presumably waiting for me to punch in my code.

I reported the incident to bank employees who said they would handle the matter by calling police. As I was describing the girls' clothing and where they were sitting, possibly waiting for their next prey, one employee asked if they were Roma.

France is cracking down on Roma migrants after President Nicolas Sarkozy ordered that the illegal squatter camps where they live be removed since they are deemed hotbeds for crimes like trafficking and prostitution. Some Roma are facing deportation on chartered flights to Bulgaria and Romania by the French authorities.

http://www.globalpost.com/notebook/france/100816/thieves-bare-it-all-atm-heists