A German man is on trial for allegedly drugging, raping and filming his unconscious wife over a period of nearly 15 years in a case dubbed the “German Pericot”.
A verdict is expected on Friday in the case of the 61-year-old school janitor. Prosecutors say the man raped his wife between 2009 and 2024. Prosecutors say the alleged abuse took place inside the couple’s home, was filmed without the victim’s knowledge, and was shared online.
The ruling at Aachen District Court in western Germany came exactly one year after Frenchman Dominique Pericot was found guilty of aggravated rape for recruiting dozens of strangers in chat rooms over nearly a decade to rape and abuse his then-wife Gisele. All 49 other men were convicted of rape or sexual assault.
The incident, which unfolded over several months in southeastern France, shocked France and drew global attention to how the country tackles gender-based violence in a culture steeped in misogyny. This has led to a cultural reckoning with violence against women, which the country continues to grapple with.
Campaign group Nur Ja Heisst Ja said the Aachen case was the first of its kind to be heard in a German court, and its name, which translates to “Only Yes Means Yes,” underlined its mission to change the legal definition of rape.
Last year, Hamburg-based investigative journalists unearthed evidence of a man who had shared videos on adult websites for 14 years that allegedly showed him drugging and raping his wife. However, the man was never charged. He passed away in 2024.
The Aachen case is “very important,” said Nur ja Heist ja activist Jill S., who asked CNN not to use her last name to avoid abuse online.
In Germany, consent has traditionally been defined by the “no, no” principle, which activists argue deprives victims of sexual abuse, especially drugged victims as alleged in the Aachen case, of the ability to explicitly consent to sexual activity.
Nur Ja Heisst Ja is calling on the German government to change the definition of rape to include a “yes means yes” criterion, saying that current law still places the burden on victims to verbally resist rape and other forms of sexual violence.
“As with all topics related to sexual violence, the government is not taking this issue very seriously,” said Jill S.
Activists say the Aachen incident also highlights another important issue. That means that possession of rape content is currently legal in Germany.
Nur Ja Heist Ya is hopeful that this situation may change soon, as Lower Saxony’s Minister of Justice Katherine Wahlmann has launched a state-wide campaign to criminalize their possession.
Across the border, French lawmaker Sandrine Jossot also believes laws need to be changed to protect women from this type of abuse.
For Josso, the issue is personal.
In November 2023, Josso claimed that then-66-year-old French senator Joel Guerriot drugged her at a party.
She filed criminal charges and the trial begins in January.
Mr. Guerrio denies all charges.
“I don’t think today’s laws are well-grounded in reality,” Josso told CNN, adding that she believes current laws don’t take into account how the online world fosters a unique ecosystem of abuse.
“Social media enables it (sexual abuse) because communities form and share tips, essentially refining and specializing their methods. That’s what makes this issue so alarming,” she said.
Prosecutors said both Pericot and the defendants in the Aachen case used free messaging platforms to connect and share abusive content.
Josso said websites and chat rooms hosting rape content are like “online universities of violence” where men can have fun teaching each other how to drug their partners or share footage of alleged crimes.
For Jill S. from Germany, online platforms and governments have a lot to figure out when it comes to combating the spread and propagation of this content.
“Sadly, I think all of these men felt really, really safe sharing this content, putting it online, leaving thousands of videos on their laptops at home.”
She hopes Friday’s ruling will finally shatter this illusion of safety and help convict more abusers.
