‘He had a lot of profiles’: The rise of online drug-facilitated rape gangs
Summary
The article reports on the rise of online gangs that drug women to sexually assault them and share videos of these crimes on encrypted platforms like Telegram. These networks involve multiple perpetrators and victims across different countries, and authorities have identified hundreds of members involved in such organized abuse. Survivors and campaigners are working to raise awareness and fight against this form of sexual violence.Key Facts
- A woman from England was drugged by her husband who took photos and videos of her while she was unconscious; he was sentenced to 11 years in prison.
- Some online pornography depicts people appearing unconscious, sometimes due to drugs, appealing to a sexual interest called somnophilia.
- Groups of men in Germany and elsewhere have drugged, raped, and shared footage of victims in encrypted chat groups like "Driving School" on Telegram.
- Britain’s National Crime Agency has identified 270 members of an international network involved in drug-facilitated sexual assault.
- Europol’s Project Medusa has identified 156 perpetrators and victims in another similar network.
- A 2024 case in France involved a man encouraging dozens of others to rape his sedated wife over many years.
- CNN exposed a "rape academy" where members shared tactics, arranged assaults, and traded drugs and videos on platforms such as Telegram and Motherless.
- Telegram’s privacy features, including end-to-end encryption and weak content moderation, make it a common tool for such criminal networks.
Read the Full Article
This is a fact-based summary from The Actual News. Click below to read the complete story directly from the original source.
