Members of an online predator network used coded language on Telegram to brag about drugging and raping women, with some posts including photos and videos of their attacks, according to court documents cited by prosecutors. The group, which referred to itself as the “German driving school for experts,” allegedly used terms like “cars” for women, “fuel” for sedatives, and “driving” for rape. Victims were reportedly called “dead pigs.”
Investigators have been examining years of posts across approximately two dozen Telegram group chats believed to host a network of primarily Chinese men targeting mostly Chinese women in Germany. This investigation has already resulted in the convictions of three alleged core members on charges including rape. A fourth individual was convicted in Berlin on Wednesday.
Frankfurt chief prosecutor Dominik Mies described the perpetrators as exhibiting “a particular ruthlessness, an objectification of the victims, and the perfidious planning of their crimes.” The full scope of the investigation remains unclear, including the number of attacks and perpetrators linked to the German chats and how the groups, some with tens of thousands of members, operated for an extended period. It is also uncertain if these chats are connected to broader investigations in Europe and the Americas concerning drug-facilitated sexual assaults linked to misogynistic online communities.
German privacy laws limit what prosecutors can disclose publicly, and court documents are restricted. In the ongoing Berlin trial, portions have required members of the public to leave the courtroom. Despite this, members of Germany's Chinese community, predominantly women, have attended court proceedings to show solidarity with the victims.
“What makes one really angry is to see that such groups hate women, they have no respect,” said Fu Xiao, who traveled a significant distance to attend the trial in Berlin. “Women aren’t seen as people.” In China, state media has extensively covered these cases, but discussions on Chinese social media platforms have faced partial censorship. Posts using less direct language, such as references to “date rape” or euphemisms like “students studying abroad in Germany,” have been permitted.
Echoes of Landmark Cases
The German cases have drawn parallels to a landmark French trial involving a woman who was repeatedly drugged and raped by her husband and others he invited to their home. During a hearing in Munich, Judge Markus Koppenleitner stated, “Pelicot is not an isolated case.” He added, “This is not a Chinese or French phenomenon, but one that also exists in Germany and, ultimately, worldwide.”
Similar investigations to the “German driving school” case have emerged globally. While authorities have not publicly confirmed links to the German prosecutions, some investigators have indicated that information from German authorities and journalists has been instrumental in their progress. For instance, German investigators reached out to Los Angeles police last year regarding a potential suspect in drug-facilitated sexual assaults. In the Netherlands last month, four men were arrested on suspicion of drugging and sexually abusing women after Dutch police received information from authorities in Germany and the UK.
Europol, the European Union’s police agency, launched “Project Medusa” last week, an international operation targeting online networks that facilitate drug-facilitated sexual assaults. Law enforcement from Germany and the UK are leading this operation, which has already resulted in 57 arrests.
Questions Surrounding Telegram
The predator network's ability to operate on Telegram despite clear violations of the platform's terms of service has raised questions about its use for criminal activities. In 2024, Telegram's founder was arrested in Paris amid allegations that the platform was used for illicit activities, including drug trafficking and the distribution of child sexual abuse material. He denied wrongdoing, attributing such issues to the platform's rapid user growth.
“Sexual violence is explicitly forbidden by Telegram’s terms of service and such content is routinely removed,” the company stated. “Telegram fulfils all of its legal obligations in relation to such harmful content, including everything set out by” the European Union’s Digital Services Act. However, the company did not respond to specific questions regarding the German cases, including how content related to sexual crimes remained on the platform for years and whether Telegram had alerted authorities.
Court documents indicate some of the German Telegram chats date back to at least 2020. Attorney Magdalena Gebhard, who represented a victim in a prior Berlin trial, noted an inner circle of eight perpetrators, with some chat groups reaching up to 50,000 members. Police became aware of the network in 2024 after a man in Frankfurt, identified in German courts as Dapeng Z., reportedly shifted his tactics from targeting acquaintances to strangers met online.
Dapeng Z., who German and Chinese media have identified as the group’s ringleader, was arrested in 2024. He was sentenced in February to 14 years in prison for charges including aggravated rape and attempted murder, though he has appealed. His attorneys did not comment.
Authorities have not disclosed the total number of victims, but their investigation is ongoing. In one instance, a victim only learned of her sexual assault after investigators discovered video footage. On Wednesday, Zhiting S., a 32-year-old trained medic, was convicted in Berlin of being an accessory to rape, among other charges, and sentenced to five years in prison. The defense intends to appeal.
The Berlin state court found that Zhiting S. had identified a specific sedative in the chat groups before an assault by the man convicted in Frankfurt, although others also offered such advice. Zhiting S. was also convicted on three counts of sexual coercion related to alleged abuse of his partner in China. Video recordings were instrumental in uncovering these crimes.
Defense attorney Ehssan Khazaeli stated that his client admitted to being part of a chat group but denied offering significant advice.