Man arrested over ‘rape of 19-year-old refugee after he offerered place to stay’ following escape from Ukraine to Poland

POLICE in Poland have arrested a man on suspicion of raping a teenage refugee after he promised her “help and shelter”. The 19-year-old girl had just fled war-torn Ukraine when she was allegedly assaulted by the man, 49, in Wroclaw, Poland. AlamyA man has been arresed in Poland on suspcion of raping a teenage refugee[/caption] AFPMillions of women and children are fleeing war torn Ukraine[/caption] Police believe that he promised her offers of help over the internet, and could face up to 12 years for the “brutal crime”. In a statement cops said: “She escaped from war-torn Ukraine, did not speak Polish. She trusted a man who promised to help and shelter her. “Unfortunately, all this turned out to be deceitful manipulation.” Another case inside a refugee camp at Poland’s Medyka border saw officers question a man after he only offered help to women and children – but changed his story when quizzed by cops. READ MORE WORLD NEWS A third man  was overheard offering work and a room to a 16-year-old girl before authorities intervened. As millions of women and children flee across Ukraines borders in the face of Russian attacks, concerns are growing over how to protect the most vulnerable refugees from being targeted by human traffickers or becoming victims of other forms of exploitation. The United Nations fears the number of people displaced by the increasingly brutal invasion will be three times higher than expected. That would mean the country — with a pre-invasion population of 44million — would be virtually emptied of women and children. Joung-ah Ghedini-Williams, the UNHCRs head of global communications, said: “Obviously all the refugees are women and children. “You have to worry about any potential risks for trafficking but also exploitation, and sexual exploitation and abuse. “These are the kinds of situations that people like traffickers look to take advantage of.” ‘WORRYING SIGNS’ The U.N. refugee agency says more than 2.5 million people, including more than a million children, have already fled Ukraine. Police in Berlin warned women and children in a post on social media in Ukrainian and Russian against accepting offers of overnight stays, and urged them to report anything suspicious. Tamara Barnett, director of operations at the Human Trafficking Foundation, said that such a rapid, mass displacement of people could be a “recipe for disaster.” She said: “When you’ve suddenly got a huge cohort of really vulnerable people who need money and assistance immediately. “It’s sort of a breeding ground for exploitative situations and sexual exploitation. “When I saw all these volunteers offering their houses, that flagged a worry in my head.” Security officials in Romania and Poland said that plain-clothed intelligence officers were on the lookout for “criminal elements”. Dayrina Kneziva, 25, fled from Kyiv to the Hungarian border and said that you have to “choose what will be less dangerous.” She added: “When you leave in a hurry, you just don’t think about other things.” In the Romanian border town of Siret, authorities said men offering free rides to women have been sent away. Madalina Mocan, committee director at ProTECT, said there are “already worrying signs”, with some refugees being offered shelter in exchange for services such as cleaning and babysitting, which could lead to exploitation.   Read More on The Sun She said: “There will be attempts of traffickers trying to take victims from Ukraine across the border. “Women and children are vulnerable, especially those that do not have connections – family, friends, other networks of support.” AFPWomen and children are amongst the most vulnerable[/caption]