FRANKFURT, Germany (BN24)— A 43-year-old Chinese man has been formally charged with 22 criminal offenses in Germany, including aggravated rape, attempted murder, and the illegal distribution of sedatives, following a multi-year investigation into a series of violent sexual assaults involving drugged victims, authorities said Tuesday.
According to Frankfurt prosecutors, the man—whose name was withheld in accordance with German privacy laws—is accused of systematically sedating women, some of whom he knew personally, and sexually assaulting them while they were unconscious. The alleged crimes occurred between January 2020 and November 2024, and the suspect has been held in custody since his arrest in November last year.
In eight documented rape cases, the suspect is believed to have drugged his victims using prescription-strength sleeping pills. In seven of those cases, the dosage was so dangerously high that prosecutors said the victims’ lives were at risk. In four separate incidents, investigators said the suspect overpowered and anaesthetized victims during real estate viewings, during which he raped, filmed, or photographed the unconscious women.
“The defendant acted with extreme criminal energy,” Frankfurt prosecutors said in a written statement, describing the case as “among the most serious of its kind” in recent German legal history.
Investigators also uncovered that the man had been an active member of a private Telegram group, where he allegedly shared tips on how to sexually assault unconscious women. Prosecutors said he sold sedatives illegally to other members of the chat group and may have influenced or enabled other criminal acts through this network.
The suspect, a resident of Offenbach, a city just southeast of Frankfurt, is believed to have carefully planned his assaults over nearly five years, often luring women under false pretenses such as apartment showings or social gatherings before administering the sedatives.
Prosecutors emphasized that in several cases the victims were completely unaware of being assaulted, and only discovered the crimes through later investigation or notification by authorities.
The case comes on the heels of mounting public concern in Europe over the use of drugs in sexual assault crimes, including the recent conviction of Dominique Pelicot in France, who was sentenced in December for repeatedly drugging and raping his wife over nearly a decade, and inviting strangers to do the same. That case shocked the public and brought renewed attention to non-consensual drugging as a tool of sexual abuse.
German authorities say the Offenbach case has raised similarly urgent questions about online networks that promote rape culture, and the availability of sedatives through illegal channels.
If convicted, the man could face a lengthy prison sentence, particularly due to the combination of attempted murder and aggravated sexual assault, both of which carry significant penalties under German law.
Prosecutors said they continue to examine whether more victims may be identified, and encouraged anyone with relevant information to come forward. Authorities did not say whether the man had confessed or denied the charges, but indicated the case file contains substantial digital and forensic evidence, including videos and photographs found on the suspect’s electronic devices.
As the criminal case proceeds, it is likely to fuel broader debates in Germany and across Europe about how law enforcement and digital platforms can do more to prevent sexual violence facilitated by drugs and online communities.
