A German man has been jailed for repeatedly drugging and sexually assaulting his wife and posting videos of the attacks online, in a case that has drawn comparisons with a high-profile French trial last year.
The defendant, identified as 61-year-old Fernando P in line with German privacy laws, was sentenced to eight-and-a-half years in prison by a regional court in the western city of Aachen.
He was found guilty of aggravated rape and bodily harm.
The man was also convicted of violating his wife’s privacy for making recordings and distributing them online, the court said.
A spokesperson for the court in Aachen said: “Between 2018 and 2024, the defendant repeatedly sedated his wife in their former home and then sexually abused her.
“He is also alleged to have uploaded videos of these acts to chat groups and internet platforms, thereby making them available to other users.”
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The man’s court-appointed defence lawyer has declined to comment.
The verdict in Aachen was delivered in open session, but most of the trial was held behind closed doors to protect the victim’s privacy.
A lawyer representing the victim said the court had handled the case in a highly sensitive manner, adding that her client “really has had a voice in this trial”.
The lawyer, however, declined to comment on the sentence, as she had not yet discussed it with her client.
Similarities to French trial
German media have compared the case to the 2024 trial of Dominique Pelicot in Avignon, France, who was sentenced to 20 years for drugging and repeatedly raping his wife and for inviting dozens of strangers to abuse her while she was unconscious.
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The Pelicot case led France to reform its rape laws this year, adding a clear requirement for “freely given and informed” consent – a standard similar to legislation in Sweden, Spain and the UK.
Germany updated its rape law in 2016 to lower the threshold for prosecution, but some campaigners argue it still falls short of a fully consent-based model.
