Table of Contents
- Trial Overview
- Accusations Against Fernando S.
- Similarities to Gisele Pelicot Case
- Legal Charges Faced by Fernando S.
- Court Proceedings
- Related Case: Amanda Stanhope
A 61-year-old caretaker is currently on trial in Germany, accused of drugging, raping, and secretly filming his wife over a span of 15 years.
This case has already drawn comparisons to a similar incident in France.
A caretaker, 61, is on trial in Germany for drugging and raping his wife for 15 yearsCredit: Google Maps
The German case is being described by local media as chillingly reminiscent of the Gisele Pelicot ordealCredit: Getty
The defendant, Fernando S., is being tried in Aachen, North Rhine-WestphaliaCredit: newsX/NF
Prosecutors state that the accused, identified as Fernando S., allegedly sedated his wife with medication from 2009 until spring 2024, sexually assaulted her, and recorded the incidents.
He is also accused of distributing the videos in online chat groups and on various internet platforms to other men.
Investigators reportedly uncovered extensive footage documenting the assaults, as well as other covert recordings of his wife in compromising situations.
Local media indicates that he allegedly used platforms like Telegram, where thousands of users exchanged intimate images and, in some instances, offered their partners to others for exploitation.
The allegations have drawn immediate comparisons to the Gisèle Pelicot case.
The high-profile French trial involved Pelicot’s husband, Dominique, who drugged her for nearly a decade and invited numerous men to assault her while she was unconscious.
Gisèle, who chose to reveal her identity, became a symbol of resistance after disclosing that she had no recollection of the assaults and had been victimized by at least 72 men.
This landmark trial unveiled a vast network of men recruited online, along with an extensive archive of videos and photos documenting hundreds of assaults.
It also exposed a disturbing grooming pattern in which Pelicot’s husband mixed powerful sedatives into her food and drinks.
The case, which concluded with significant convictions in December 2024, established a critical legal and cultural precedent in France.
In Aachen, Fernando S. faces six counts of rape, three counts of sexual coercion, and one count of causing dangerous bodily harm.
He is also charged with an additional 30 counts for violating his wife’s privacy through unauthorized image recordings.
Fernando S. has been in custody since his arrest in February and had been employed as a caretaker at a school in Alsdorf, Western Germany.
On the first day of the trial, he reportedly entered the courtroom limping, with a hood pulled low to conceal his face.
The public was subsequently removed from the courtroom to safeguard the victim’s privacy.
According to local reports, the defendant has admitted to most of the actions during closed-door sessions.
The proceedings are expected to continue over several sessions, with a verdict anticipated by mid-December.
This comes in light of another woman revealing her experience of abuse while unconscious.
In a poignant interview, Amanda Stanhope shared that the trauma left her so disoriented that she feared she might have Alzheimer’s.
Gisele Pelicot exits the courthouse during the appeal trial in the Mazan rape case at the Nimes courthouse in Nimes, southern France, on October 8, 2025Credit: AFP
People gather in support of Frenchwoman Gisele Pelicot, the victim of a mass rape orchestrated by her then-husband Dominique Pelicot at their home in southern France< 
