German Court Convicts Fourth Man in Telegram Chat Network Used to Drug and Rape Women

A Berlin court convicted a fourth man Wednesday on rape and related charges tied to Telegram chat groups that prosecutors say coordinated drug-facilitated sexual assaults on women in Germany. The groups, which used terms such as “cars” for victims, “fuel” for sedatives and “driving” for rape, included posts with photos and videos of attacks, according to court documents.

Investigators reviewed several years of messages across roughly two dozen chats believed to involve mainly Chinese men targeting Chinese women. Three other men have already been convicted in the same investigation. Prosecutors have described the perpetrators as showing “particular ruthlessness, an objectification of the victims, and the perfidious planning of their crimes,” Frankfurt chief prosecutor Dominik Mies told The Associated Press.

German privacy rules limit public disclosure of the number of attacks or total suspects. Court records show some groups had up to 50,000 members, and the chats date back to at least 2020. Police learned of the network in 2024 after a Frankfurt man identified as Dapeng Z.

shifted from targeting acquaintances to strangers met online. He was arrested that year with assistance from Chinese authorities.

Members of Germany’s Chinese community have attended court sessions to support victims. Fu Xiao, who traveled about 500 kilometers to Berlin for one hearing, said the groups showed “no respect” for women. The cases have prompted comparisons to the Gisèle Pelicot trial in France.

” Similar investigations have opened in the Netherlands and Los Angeles, and Europol announced “Project Medusa” last week, an operation led by Germany and the UK that has produced 57 arrests.

Telegram said sexual violence violates its terms and that it removes such content and meets European Union legal obligations. The company did not answer questions about how the material remained visible for years.