AACHEN, Germany - A German court jailed a man on Friday for repeatedly drugging his wife, sexually assaulting her and posting videos of the attacks online, in a case that has drawn comparisons with a high‑profile French trial last year.
The 61-year-old defendant, identified only as Fernando P. in accordance with German privacy laws, was sentenced to eight and a half years by a regional court in the western city of Aachen that found him guilty of aggravated rape and bodily harm.
He was also convicted of violating his wife's intimate privacy for making recordings and distributing them online, the court said.
The case has drawn comparisons in German media to the 2024 trial of Dominique Pelicot in Avignon, France, who was sentenced to 20 years for drugging and repeatedly raping his wife and inviting dozens of strangers to abuse her unconscious body.
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."
The defendant's court-appointed defence lawyer declined to comment.
Casee echoes French trial
The Pelicot trial prompted France to overhaul its rape law this year, introducing an explicit requirement for "freely given and informed" consent — a standard comparable to Swedish, Spanish and British legislation.
Germany revised its rape law in 2016 to make it easier to prosecute assaults, but some activists say it still stops short of a fully consent-based approach.
The verdict in Aachen was delivered in open court, but most of the trial was held behind closed doors to protect the victim's privacy, the court said previously.
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, which she has yet to discuss with her client.
