Partner Secretly Drugged and Raped: Seven Years in Prison for 42-Year-Old

According to the indictment, he extensively reported the acts of abuse to a German in words and pictures. The jury trial was largely held behind closed doors. The verdict is not final.

According to the indictment, the 42-year-old initially "exchanged" emails with a German who had repeatedly sedated and raped his wife over 15 years in Lower Saxony. This person "sent him reports of experiences and videos and photos of the acts" and "encouraged him to imitate them." "The accused decided to drug and sexually abuse his partner himself," it was stated.

42-Year-Old Sent Pictures of the Act

At the end of March 2014, the Lower Austrian allegedly sedated his partner. After the woman drifted off, a series of acts of abuse occurred, which the accused also documented in pictures. He sent the material along with a detailed report to the German the next day. Subsequently, according to the indictment, he informed the man "even more extensively about the continued and repeated abuse" via a relevant communication application.

According to the prosecutor, the allegations are particularly based on online communication in which the Lower Austrian documented the act and sent pictures. The indictment also included three attempts from October to December 2014, where the sedative did not have the desired effect or could not be dissolved in a drink without leaving a trace.

"The allegations are partly true," said the 42-year-old at the beginning of the trial. In the chats with the German, he "described more than actually happened" because he wanted to "show off." After a difficult phase, during which he spent a lot of time on the internet, he reported having "the best time of his life" from 2015 until his arrest on February 19 this year, describing a harmonious family life with two children. The public was excluded from the jury trial due to the highly personal nature of the case. The current ex-partner of the Lower Austrian testified as a witness.

Victim's Representative Recalled the Pelicot Case in France

The prosecutor identified in the closing argument a particularly severe guilt because the victim had completely lost consciousness and was subjected to massive violence. The accused was "obviously fascinated" by the idea of drugging and raping women, and had also tried to order more pills and even manufacture them himself.

The victim's representative said the crime had "pulled the rug out from under" the woman, and she suffers from post-traumatic stress disorder and an anxiety disorder. Her client cannot remember the crime. Chemical submission does not only happen through knockout drops, but also through medication in one's own home. The victim's representative also recalled the Pelicot case in France. Gisèle Pelicot was repeatedly drugged by her husband Dominique Pelicot over the years and offered for rape in internet forums. The main defendant received the maximum sentence of 20 years, and all 50 co-defendants were convicted.

"There is nothing to sugarcoat here," said the 42-year-old's defense attorney. "The acts happened over ten years ago, and nothing like that has happened since," he noted. His client is of good character and is undergoing psychotherapy, the lawyer explained, and asked for a lenient sentence. The accused said in his final words that he was "incredibly sorry" and that he regretted it: "I deal with the acts intensively every day."

Judge: Sentence must be a "clear signal"

The deliberation on the verdict lasted only a few minutes. The accused was ultimately found guilty of one completed act and one attempt. In determining the length of the sentence, general preventive reasons also had to be considered, said the presiding judge: The sentence "must be a clear signal that such actions have massive consequences." Aggravating factors, according to the judge, were the concurrence of two crimes, that the accused "massively exploited" the trust relationship with his then-partner, and that he could not assess the effects of the substances. Mitigating factors were - within a sentencing range of five to 15 years - the good character and the confession.

The 42-year-old was also ordered to pay his former partner 10,120 euros. The victim was referred to civil court for the remaining claims. The prosecution, the defense attorney, and the private party representative made no statement. Thus, the verdict is not final.

(APA/Red)

This article has been automatically translated, read the original article here.