A 68-year-old man is accused of incapacitating women he met online, assaulting them while unconscious and recording the alleged crimes
German prosecutors have charged a 68-year-old Berlin man with 22 counts of rape involving 14 women who were allegedly rendered unconscious with sleeping medication and alcohol before being sexually assaulted and filmed.
The suspect, whose name has not been released under German privacy rules, is a German national who worked as an electrician. He has been held in custody since March while investigators examine a large collection of digital evidence recovered from his home in the eastern Berlin district of Friedrichsfelde.
According to the Berlin public prosecutor’s office, the man allegedly contacted women through online dating platforms and arranged to meet them in person. Prosecutors say he then gave them various sleeping tablets combined with alcohol, leaving them unable to give consent or defend themselves.
The indictment concerns 22 alleged assaults against 14 women. Because the suspect is accused of recording the attacks, prosecutors have also linked the alleged offences to violations of the victims’ right to control the use of their own images.
None of the women involved in the current charges reportedly remembered the alleged assaults. Investigators said the victims became aware of what had allegedly happened only after police discovered and examined the recordings.
The scope of the investigation could be considerably larger than the formal indictment suggests. Prosecutors said evidence gathered so far points to alleged offences involving as many as 58 women. Ten women appearing in the recovered material had not yet been identified when the charges were announced.
The case began after police in the northern German state of Lower Saxony passed information to Berlin investigators. Officers there had been examining similar allegations against another man, who has since died, and reportedly discovered that he had communicated online with the Berlin suspect.
That tip led police to search the suspect’s apartment. Investigators seized digital storage devices and other files, later finding videos that they believe document sexual assaults in which the accused man appears to be the perpetrator.
Prosecutors have not disclosed the dates of all the alleged offences or provided details about how long the suspected activity may have continued. The accused has not publicly responded to the charges, according to reports citing the prosecutor’s office.
The allegations have emerged amid growing international concern over drug-facilitated sexual violence and the use of digital platforms to record, distribute or discuss abuse. Recent investigations in Germany and other European countries have uncovered cases in which unconscious victims were allegedly assaulted on camera and the recordings retained or circulated online.
Authorities have stressed that the current indictment covers only the allegations for which prosecutors believe they have gathered sufficient evidence. Investigations into the remaining women shown in the recovered files are continuing.
The case must now be reviewed by the Berlin Regional Court, which will decide whether to accept the indictment and open a trial. Until a verdict is delivered, the accused is legally presumed innocent.
