A Berlin court has convicted a Chinese man over his alleged involvement in an online network of sexual predators bragging and planning attacks on Telegram. The Telegram networks uncovered by German investigators are understood to have thousands of participants in a case echoing that of Gisele Pelicot in France.
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TRANSCRIPT
A warning, the following story contains discussions of sexual assault.
The group called themselves the "German driving school for experts".
But German prosecutors say their real purpose was ruthless: a network of men using code words to disguise their boasting about the women they raped and sharing tips on how to sedate them.
Magdalena Gebhard, who represented a victim in a previous trial that led to a conviction, says the network was extensive.
“There were several groups. There was a small core group of eight men and several large groups with sometimes up to 50,000 people who participated, who were members, meaning they consumed the material that was published there, but also participated in a chat, endorsed it, or perhaps even committed crimes.”
In their posts, which sometimes included photos and videos of attacks on unconscious victims, they would refer to women as "cars", sedatives as "fuel", and rape as "driving".
They called their unconscious victims "dead pigs".
Magdalena Gebhard says she was stunned by the level of brutality.
“Even though I represent a lot of sexual offences, it was precisely this unbelievable misogyny, this contempt for women that is evident in the language. But also this worldwide network of men who meet solely for the purpose of dehumanizing women was very shocking to me.”
After poring through several years' worth of messages in roughly two dozen group chats on Telegram, the investigation has led to the convictions of three alleged inner circle members on rape and other charges.
A fourth man who is a medical doctor has now also been convicted in Berlin of being an accessory to rape, among other charges, and sentenced to five years in prison.
Court spokesperson Inga Wahlen says the 32-year-old Shao Zhiting allegedly provided advice to the group on which drugs were best for sedation.
“The chamber described these acts as extremely misogynistic. These are cases where women are degraded to mere sexual objects. The chairman also pointed out that these are not only sexual offenses, but that these offences are subsequently posted on the internet and then applauded. He stated that it is a new phenomenon and he expects that German courts will increasingly have to deal with such cases in the future.”
Despite clearly breaching the Telegram app's terms of service, some of the groups date back to at least 2020.
In a statement, Telegram has said 'sexual violence is explicitly forbidden' and 'such content is routinely removed'.
Charlotte Hirz, who works at the LARA rape crisis and counselling centre, says that modern technology is facilitating perpetrators.
“Of course we live in a patriarchy. We live in violent structures. It has been this way for many hundreds of years. And naturally, that hasn't changed now either. What has changed is the ease with which perpetrators can communicate with each other.”
The network of predators was made up predominantly of Chinese men in Germany, targeting mostly Chinese women in Germany.
While the case has been covered extensively by state media in China, it has garnered less attention in Germany, with prosecutors limited in what they can say outside a courtroom and court documents being restricted, under German privacy laws.
However, members of Germany's Chinese community, mostly women, have been attending court proceedings to show support for the victims even if they don't know them.
Fu Xiao travelled 500 kilometres last week.
“I find it infuriating to see such groups harbouring such hatred toward women. They have no respect whatsoever. They only ask if the action was successful — if the medicine worked, or whatever. No one ever asked, did the woman throw up? How did she react to it? Is she actually doing okay? Did she develop psychological problems or physical complications afterward? That was never asked. Women aren't seen as human beings. I find that cruel.”
During a hearing in Munich, Judge Markus Koppenleitner has said these are not isolated cases, but instead represent a phenomenon that exists worldwide.
The case has drawn comparisons to a landmark case in France, in which French woman Gisele Pelicot was repeatedly raped and drugged by her former husband and a network of strangers.
The European Union's police agency, Europol, has recently announced "Project Medusa", an international operation designed to dismantle online networks that promote drug-facilitated sexual assaults.
The operation has already seen 57 arrests.
Magdalena Gebhard says while the law in Germany is not very harsh on sexual offences, things are getting better.
“Fundamentally, it must be said that sexual offences in Germany are not punished very severely. This has now actually changed, with the sedation, rape, and sedation of women now carrying a minimum sentence of five years, as it is classified as a dangerous tool. This is a very welcome change in criminal law. Nevertheless, it remains very difficult to prove, because only if we have a video of it, if the perpetrator has made a video of it, can we then prove it.”
