A German court has sentenced a 61-year-old man to more than eight years in prison for repeatedly drugging and raping his wife while she was unconscious, secretly recording the assaults and sharing the footage online, in a case that has drawn comparisons to France’s landmark Pelicot trial.
The verdict was delivered Friday by a regional court in Aachen, western Germany, following a trial that examined years of abuse committed inside the couple’s home. Prosecutors said the crimes occurred without the victim’s knowledge and involved the systematic misuse of sedatives.
The case is one of the most serious domestic sexual abuse prosecutions heard in Germany in recent years and highlights how digital platforms can be used to extend sexual violence beyond the private sphere. Campaigners say it exposes gaps in how long-term abuse within marriage is detected and prosecuted.
The defendant, identified by the court as Fernando P., worked as a school janitor and was convicted of multiple offenses, including aggravated rape, dangerous bodily harm, aggravated sexual coercion, sexual assault, and violations of personal privacy through illicit image recordings.
In its ruling, the court said the man violated “the most intimate sphere of private life and of personal rights” in 34 separate cases, including four instances involving aggravated rape and dangerous bodily harm.
According to a court statement, the defendant “repeatedly secretly sedated and sexually abused his wife in the marital home,” filmed the assaults, and then shared the recordings with other users in online group chats and internet platforms.
The court found him guilty of offenses committed between 2018 and 2024, though prosecutors alleged the abuse spanned nearly 15 years. He was acquitted on several additional charges, the details of which were not disclosed.
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Fernando P. was sentenced to eight years and six months in prison. The court said an appeal may be filed within one week.
The verdict comes one year after Dominique Pelicot was convicted in France of aggravated rape for orchestrating the abuse of his then-wife, Gisèle Pelicot, by dozens of men over nearly a decade. That case, which resulted in convictions for 49 additional defendants, shocked France and prompted a national reckoning over consent, misogyny, and sexual violence.
While the Aachen case involved a single perpetrator, legal experts and advocates say the similarities — long-term abuse, drugging, and online dissemination — place it within a broader European pattern of technology-enabled sexual crimes.
Advocacy group Nur Ja Heisst Ja (“Only Yes Means Yes”), which campaigns for stronger consent-based rape laws in Germany, described the ruling as unprecedented.
“This is a very significant case,” said Jill S., an activist with the group, who asked that her last name not be published due to concerns about online harassment. Speaking before the verdict, she told CNN the case highlights “where there are gaps in our legal system.”
German media have previously reported on a similar case uncovered by investigative journalists in Hamburg, where a man allegedly shared videos of drugging and raping his wife for more than a decade. That suspect died in 2024 and was never charged.
Legal experts say the Aachen ruling could influence future prosecutions involving covert drugging, marital rape, and the non-consensual distribution of sexual images. If the defendant appeals, a higher court will review the judgment in the coming weeks.
