German serial rapist sentenced to 12 years as police investigate 44 more cases

The court sentenced Frank S. to 12 years in prison, followed by preventive detention. The 69-year-old is unlikely ever to be released. ADVERTISEMENT ADVERTISEMENT One of the worst serial rapists in German criminal history is believed by investigators to have drugged and raped 58 women, filmed his crimes and shared the footage online with other men. It was this that ultimately led to his capture. After his chat partner was arrested, police tracked down Frank S., searched his flat and found the video recordings. Frank S. had filmed a total of 58 women after drugging their drinks and sexually assaulting them. Some of the women were still conscious and begged him to stop. Afterwards, many were unable to remember what had happened because of the heavy sedation. As a result, Frank S. was not reported to police, while other women suppressed memories of what they had experienced. It was only when police visited some of the women at home during the investigation that they first learned what Frank S. had done to them. On Wednesday, Berlin Regional Court sentenced Frank S. to 12 years in prison, followed by preventive detention, for 22 rapes involving 14 women. In nine cases, he also violated their intimate privacy by recording them. During the three-month trial, all 14 women testified as witnesses, with six also participating as joint plaintiffs. The perpetrator's videos were also used as evidence. According to the court, the women were completely helpless and defenceless because they had been sedated with various medications. The judges found that Frank S. took advantage of this. The now 69-year-old filmed his acts and is said to have stored the video recordings digitally "like trophies in a cabinet". The court described his actions as particularly "contemptuous towards women". Despite the confession delivered by S.'s defence lawyer at the start of the trial, the court ordered preventive detention after he serves his sentence. This measure is considered one of the harshest tools available to the judiciary. By the time he could be released from prison, he will already be over 80 years old. The court did not consider his advanced age sufficient reason to conclude that S. would not reoffend. The presiding judge stated that the defendant had not fully understood what he had done to the women or the serious consequences his actions had had for them. The verdict is not yet legally binding, and S. can still appeal. Frank S.'s devious methods Over a seven-year period from 2016 to 2022, the now 69-year-old met the 14 women through dating platforms and deceived them. He gained their trust in a way that was, according to a court spokesperson, "particularly devious". He told one woman he was a police inspector and another that he was a helicopter pilot. Ultimately, the trained electrician invited the women to his flat and offered them drinks. However, the alcoholic drinks were laced with substances that, combined with alcohol, left the women helpless and unable to resist. Some still tried to protest verbally, but S. ignored them. "What really mattered to him was to exercise power over these defenceless women," a court spokesperson explained. S. raped the sedated women, in some cases several times, in his bedroom, where a video camera was permanently installed. The judge described S.'s methods as systematic and highly organised. His crimes followed a pattern. The court also stated that he acted like an archivist and, as became particularly clear from the videos examined, carried out his crimes in a calm and routine manner. He is said to have rewatched some of the footage while smoking a cigarette. Four expert witnesses, including specialists in IT, toxicology and psychiatry, provided evidence during the trial. Six of the victims participated as joint plaintiffs during the three-month proceedings. Two of them attended the sentencing but declined to speak publicly. Women avoid public attention as organisations show solidarity "What is very important for me and also for my client is the preventive detention that has now been ordered, because the propensity to offend and the danger he poses, at least as things stand today, are very clear," said Silke Studzinski, lawyer for one of the joint plaintiffs. Laura Leogrande, a lawyer for another joint plaintiff, also said "that there was indeed a reluctance to speak in public". She stressed that this was not a criticism, however. At the plaintiffs’ request, the closing statements were delivered behind closed doors. They decided to speak about the rapes they had suffered without members of the public present. "I do find it remarkable that there was so much shame," Leogrande said, "about having been in this situation, about having become a victim of this crime, and having trusted this man enough to go home with him, and then something like this happens." The victims were not to blame. Outside the courthouse, organisations such as Terre des Femmes and initiatives like "Die Scham muss die Seite wechseln" ("Shame must change sides") showed their solidarity. They called for protests and rallies. "Terre des Femmes is here because we stand in solidarity with those affected and because we want to send a signal against sexualised violence," explained Sina Tonk, a department head at the organisation, in an interview with Euronews. "We know that only around three percent of rapes are ever reported to the police, and that happens out of fear or shame, or because many obstacles are placed in the way of those affected." Another trial could follow. Police now believe there are 58 victims, and investigations into a further 44 cases are ongoing. Ten women believed to appear in the videos have not yet been identified. Leogrande stressed that this is not a new phenomenon. Rather, rape after a victim has been drugged is "something that has only now come to the surface, that is only now being talked about and that is only now being investigated in real detail". The Pelicot case in France has drawn particular attention to the issue. Berlin police became aware of Frank S. after officers in Lower Saxony passed on a tip based on a chat log. S. had exchanged information about his crimes with a suspected rapist in Verden, Lower Saxony. He was arrested in March 2026 and has remained in pre-trial detention since then. The series of rapes is considered the largest case to date involving drug-facilitated sexual assault before the Berlin Regional Court. Germany has also recently tightened its laws on sexual violence, including provisions concerning the use of incapacitating drugs and the recording of crimes.