The systematic creation of recordings of attacks and their distribution on digital platforms formed a central element in the trial against Fernando P., who was sentenced to eight and a half years in prison by the Aachen Regional Court. According to information published by the local press and detailed by judiciary spokespersons, the compilation and dissemination of explicit content allowed the judiciary to document the repetition of events and establish a pattern of sexual violence by the defendants between 2018 and 2024.
The media highlighted that during the trial it was proven that the woman had used sleeping pills and other substances to incapacitate her. Fernando P., 61, was found guilty of sedating and raping his wife in their home. According to the official spokesman quoted by various media outlets, the planning and repetition of the attacks as well as the production and digital distribution of the videos were considered aggravating factors for the verdict. The district court considered these elements to be evidence of an intention to perpetuate harm by subjecting the victim to a form of violence that went beyond privacy when shared in group chats and social networks.
Judicial sources cited by the German press said the court particularly appreciated the additional suffering caused to the victim by the massive dissemination of the files, which made her an object of digital consumption without her consent. The investigation made it possible to link the discovered episodes with audiovisual evidence from 2018 to 2024. However, the review of previous incidents, including a case registered in 2009, failed to collect sufficient evidence of the victim’s identity or prove the direct authorship of the accused, so this episode was not mentioned in the final verdict.
The court case detailed that access and tracking of audiovisual material made it easier to clarify the circumstances of the recent attacks, while the lack of a solid basis regarding old incidents limited the inclusion of other facts in the final decision. According to media reports, the court spokesman pointed out the difficulty in solving cases of sexual violence in the domestic environment, where fear, manipulation of the perpetrator or lack of immediate reporting make it difficult to detect crimes and obtain concrete evidence.
The local press reported that this case led to comparisons with that of Dominique Pelicot in France, where the tranquilization and systematic rape of a woman by various people in her home was documented over several years. The Aachen judges found that there are similar mechanisms of sustained abuse, control and manipulation as well as problems arising from the illegal distribution of images on the Internet, which make it more difficult to prosecute those responsible and protect victims.
During the trial, the judges emphasized the dual function of technology: as a tool to maintain and prolong the victim’s pain and as an essential resource for authorities to collect evidence. The court ruling emphasized the need for secure storage of digital evidence as it supported charges of aggravated rape and aggravated assault and other sexual offenses in this case.
The court ruled that the sentence aimed to adequately reflect the repetition and seriousness of the events and to recognize the suffering suffered by the victim. Official organizations reiterated, according to journalistic reports, that the problem of sexual violence in the domestic environment is exacerbated by the silence and the attacker’s attempts to tamper with or destroy evidence, necessitating the preservation of digital records as a key mechanism of judicial prosecution.
In statements published by the press, the Aachen judges noted that this case highlights the legal and social challenges arising from dealing with sexual crimes that are continuously committed in the privacy of the family and are characterized by the use of technology to generate, store and disseminate evidence without consent, which increases both the media impact and the stigmatization and psychological impact on the victim.
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