Berlin man jailed for 12 years, preventive detention for drugging and raping women
A Berlin court sentenced a 69-year-old who confessed to 22 counts of rape. The verdict is not final, and investigations into cases involving 44 more women continue.
Symbolic image · Photo: A.Savin / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 3.0 (cropped and resized)
The Berlin Regional Court on Wednesday sentenced a 69-year-old man to 12 years in prison followed by preventive detention. The court convicted him on 22 counts of rape, causing dangerous bodily harm and, in several cases, violating intimate privacy by taking images. The crimes were committed between 2016 and 2022. The verdict can still be appealed.
According to the court, the man, who confessed, met women aged 50 to 60 through dating platforms, at times posing as a police officer or an air force pilot. At his apartment in the Lichtenberg district, he mixed a sedative into their drinks, raped the near-unconscious women and filmed the assaults. The presiding judge said the defendant had "deliberately sought out victims." He must pay some of the women damages amounting to tens of thousands of euros.
Prosecutors had sought 13 years and preventive detention, while the defence asked for no more than eight years. The court found the man remains a danger to the public; a psychiatric expert saw no sign of diminished responsibility. Fourteen women testified at the trial. Investigators are still looking into alleged offences against 44 other women.