Pelicot trial in Lower Saxony: Twelve years in prison for the crying rapist

The hand with which the defendant Grzegorz C. holds the file in front of his face, as so often in this trial in Hanover, is shaking. She does this even before the verdict is announced. Grzegorz C. is the man who repeatedly drugged, raped and filmed his partner over four and a half years in their shared apartment in the Ronnenberg district in order to share these videos with other men. He knows that he faces a long prison sentence.

The court finally announced twelve years. Twelve years for 33 serious rapes and seven cases of serious sexual assault in conjunction with dangerous bodily harm and violating the most personal sphere of life by taking pictures.

Twelve years – that is the higher end of the punishment range, which would have allowed a maximum of 15 years. The sentence is similar to that in the case of Frank S. from Berlin, although preventive detention was also ordered - which means that it is unclear for him whether and when he will even be released again.

The Hanover Regional Court waived this. In contrast to Frank S., who has been looking for new victims on dating platforms over the years, Grzegorz C. is not a serial offender. The psychiatric expert had emphasized the effect that the arrest, the proceedings and the threatened prison sentence had on C. from the beginning.

With a man who had functioned perfectly until recently, as the expert emphasizes: married, two children, always worked properly, no criminal record. His defense attorney Marcin Raminski also says: “This is not a hardened guy who is sitting through this smiling on one butt cheek.”

However, the expert (and, following him, the court) didn't buy his favorite excuse: the drugs and alcohol were to blame, the defendant claimed. He consumed more and more and got involved in these perverted sex games.

The expert considered it very possible that this consumption may have had a disinhibiting effect. But no one was able to detect an impairment in his ability to control himself or a limited capacity for guilt. The presiding judge once again stated in his verdict that the actions were simply too complex and the preparation and follow-up took too long.

Grzegorz C. got the sleeping pill from his family doctor, mixed it into his partner's tea or other drinks, raped and filmed, sometimes for hours, how he tied her up, beat her and spit on her, and penetrated her orally, vaginally and anally with his penis, sex toys, a wooden stick, bottles or vegetables.

He then edited the videos and uploaded them to platforms like Motherless and Telegram, boasted about his exploits, was happy about the praise and encouragement, and gave advice about how much Miligram Zolpidem you would need to knock out a woman with that stature like that.

In his statements to the court, he nevertheless claimed that he still loved the woman, whom he only called a whore, slut or sleeping bitch in the chats, and that he was crying. How this works together, says the judge with an audible shake of his head, is probably one of the questions that could not be answered satisfactorily in this trial.

The court nevertheless credited the defendant with the remorse shown, the comprehensive confession, and the willingness to answer questions and participate in further investigations. This also includes another bizarre detail: The chamber assumes it has been proven that C. tried at least a few times to initiate something like a small confession.

At the breakfast table he hinted to his partner that he had performed sexual acts on her while she was sleeping. But she dismissed it. Because she thought that would definitely have woken her up. He did not correct this assumption.

With the confession, he also shortened the evidence program and the procedure as a whole. This saved the court from having to deal with the “extremely disturbing” video material, as the judge said, for another few days.

For the victim, her lawyer Christina Rust made it clear again after the hearing, this is not something that can be dismissed so easily. The idea that this video footage is still out there somewhere and could resurface at any time bothers her. The process and the extensive media coverage also put a lot of strain on her. But she hopes that something like calm will now return. And then perhaps some kind of processing could slowly take place.