Defendant admits involvement in mistreatment trial in Soest

Trial for mistreatment in Soest Main defendant admits involvement As of: November 2nd, 2026 • 4:04 p.m

In the trial surrounding the brutal mistreatment of a woman in Soest, two of the defendants broke their silence today. The main defendant confessed to having been involved in some of the crimes, and the second to having raped the woman. Now the main defendant's partner at the time is increasingly coming into focus.

The main defendant had previously denied being involved in the abuse. Now the 29-year-old Soester admitted that he partially took part. However, for some of the crimes he was not even in the house where everything happened. But he made it clear: “I am not innocent.”

Defendants confess in court The first principle was that there was brutal mistreatment in which the woman was tortured, beaten, sexually abused and treated inhumanely, said Soester at the trial today in the Arnsberg regional court.

However, the main defendant put his involvement into perspective several times. He accused his then partner of being an active participant in the abuse.

For example, last November when he tied the woman half-naked to a beam on the terrace. His partner at the time “ordered” this as punishment for the victim.

The mistreated Soesterin had apparently had to sleep naked on the terrace in the previous nights, the judge described from the indictment and from videos that are supposed to show what happened.

The abused Soesterin may have tried to come into the house on one of these nights. Apparently that was what the punishment was for, as could be seen from the defendant's confession.

His partner at the time was only subsequently arrested after new videos became known. They had only recently been leaked to investigators.

It became known in the trial today that 18 other violent alleged acts were filmed, in which people who have not yet been charged were involved.

The main defendant confessed in court today.

The public prosecutor's office plans to file further charges. The main defendant announced in court on Monday that he also wanted to confess to some of these crimes, to the extent that he was involved in them.

He observed with amusement the inhumane actions the woman was forced to do. “People took part and it amused me,” he said verbatim.

Security precautions in front of the courtroom.

The process took place under very high security precautions. All visitors were searched and scanned before entering the hearing room and had to hand over their cell phones.

There were significantly more constables in the room than usual. Reason: Some of the co-defendants said they were afraid of the main defendant. He, in turn, said he was also afraid. What specifically, he left open.

The second adult defendant also confessed. He admitted that he raped the victim. However, he also put his guilt into perspective: He was apparently threatened with text messages by the main defendant and forced to rape the woman.

The new videos also apparently show that only one of the two underage accused brothers was involved in the crimes, the other apparently not. The public prosecutor therefore believes that their charges against the 17-year-old are no longer justified.

Both underage defendants responded to the allegations - but how is unclear. For reasons of protecting minors, the public was excluded.

The victim is scheduled to be interviewed via video link next week. The co-plaintiff explained that this was necessary due to her illness. Lawyers and judges agreed.

In the trial on Monday there was also talk of so-called waterboarding, a torture method. However, the defendant did not comment on this; this alleged act could play a role later.

The case was discovered last November. A resident saw a woman hanging on the balcony of a neighboring terraced house. Half naked, handcuffed to a wooden beam. The man called the police, who freed the woman.

"Homeless people are often dehumanized" Arrow right Our sources: Public hearing at the Arnsberg regional court Research by the WDR reporter on site Broadcast: WDR television, local time South Westphalia, November 2nd, 2026, 6:09 p.m