Chinese nationals convicted as German courts expose Telegram drug-facilitated rape network

German authorities have uncovered a Telegram-based sexual abuse network in which members allegedly exchanged advice on drugging women, shared videos of sexual assaults and encouraged one another to commit rape, leading to multiple convictions and an expanding international investigation.

German prosecutors said the group, which referred to itself as the "German Driving School for Experts" (德国老司机驾校), primarily consisted of Chinese men living in Germany.

Court documents showed members used coded language to disguise discussions of sexual violence, referring to women as "cars", sedatives as "fuel" and rape as "driving". Victims were reportedly described as "dead pigs".

According to local media reports, investigators believe the Telegram groups served as an online community where perpetrators boasted about sexual assaults, exchanged recordings of attacks on unconscious women and shared advice on administering sedatives.

The German court documents revealed that some of the Telegram conversations date back to at least 2020.

Authorities have examined several years of messages across roughly two dozen chat groups believed to have formed an organised online predator network targeting primarily Chinese women living in Germany.

Attorney Magdalena Gebhard, who represented a victim in an earlier Berlin trial, said investigators had identified an inner circle of eight perpetrators. Some of the wider Telegram groups allegedly attracted as many as 50,000 members.

One student's crimes exposed the wider network

The investigation has so far resulted in the convictions of three members linked to the network, while additional prosecutions remain ongoing.

One of the central figures was Tong Z, a 26-year-old Chinese student convicted by a Berlin court last year.

He received a prison sentence of five years and nine months for aggravated rape, dangerous bodily harm and violating personal privacy.

Court documents found that between 2019 and 2024, Tong Z secretly photographed and filmed women while they slept, showered or changed clothes in residences across Germany and during trips to Poland, Denmark and China.

Investigators also found that he used a spare key to enter a neighbour's Berlin apartment and installed a hidden camera inside her bathroom.

In 2024, the court found that Tong Z drugged a woman with a heavily sedated drink before raping and filming her.

The victim, who has mild physical and mental disabilities, only became aware of the assault after police contacted her during the investigation.

According to British media outlet The Guardian, another victim, identified as Ivy, said police informed her that intimate photographs had been secretly taken while she slept during her previous relationship with Tong Z.

She recognised herself in the images but had no memory of them being taken.

"When I saw that, I was speechless. I felt like I couldn't breathe any more," she said. "In the photos, I looked like a prey."

Court hears confession and digital evidence

According to court findings, Tong Z admitted all charges and expressed what he described as "immense shame".

In a personal statement presented during proceedings, he said he had become socially isolated after moving to Germany in 2015 as a teenager to attend boarding school.

He said prolonged loneliness led him to spend increasing amounts of time online.

"I became absorbed in digital images, videos and fantasies, without recognising that doing so could hurt real people," he said.

Further court rulings this year concluded that Tong Z was one of eight members of the Telegram group.

Investigators discovered more than 2,000 Telegram messages exchanged between Tong Z and the group's administrator, Dapeng Z, in less than one year.

Court documents showed the conversations included discussions about recording assaults and blackmailing victims using explicit footage.

Police arrested Dapeng Z in November 2024 after several women reported him.

Searches of electronic devices uncovered the Telegram groups and enabled investigators to identify additional suspects.

Police later searched Tong Z's residence, recovering condoms, women's underwear, syringes, prescription sedatives and hard drives containing more than two terabytes of videos. Investigators said separate folders had been created for each victim.

German courts found that Tong Z's offences were motivated by what they described as "dehumanising misogyny".

Multiple convictions as investigation expands

Dapeng Z, a 44-year-old information technology engineer who administered the Telegram group, was sentenced to 14 years' imprisonment for aggravated rape, attempted murder and related offences. He has appealed the conviction.

Another member, Zhongyi J, received a prison sentence exceeding 11 years after the court concluded he had administered life-threatening quantities of drugs to victims.

On 10 July 2026, Zhiting S, a 32-year-old trained medic, was convicted of accessory to rape and other offences and sentenced to five years in prison. Prosecutors said he advised another member about a particular sedative before an assault. His defence team said they intend to appeal.

Investigators said they only became aware of the wider network during 2024 after Dapeng Z allegedly shifted from targeting acquaintances to attacking women he met online.

Authorities believe the full scale of offending remains unknown.

Prosecutors have not disclosed the total number of victims and say investigations continue, raising the possibility of further arrests and prosecutions.

 

The German prosecutions have attracted widespread attention across China and among Chinese communities overseas because many of the victims were also of Chinese heritage.

Discussion of the cases on some Chinese-language social media platforms has reportedly faced partial censorship, although broader reporting has continued in Chinese state media.

The investigation has also drawn comparisons with the case of Gisèle Pelicot in France, whose husband was convicted after repeatedly drugging and facilitating her rape over many years.

During proceedings in Munich, Judge Markus Koppenleitner said the German investigation demonstrated that organised online sexual abuse networks were not confined to any single country.

"This is not a Chinese or French phenomenon, but one that also exists in Germany and, ultimately, worldwide," the judge said.

The investigation has prompted broader international cooperation.

German investigators have shared intelligence with authorities in the United States and the Netherlands, while Europol recently launched "Project Medusa", an international operation targeting online networks promoting drug-facilitated sexual assaults.

Europol said the operation, led by law enforcement agencies from Germany and the United Kingdom, has already resulted in 57 arrests.

The investigation has also renewed scrutiny of Telegram, where prosecutors said the network operated despite the platform's policies prohibiting sexual violence.

Telegram said content promoting sexual violence is explicitly forbidden under its terms of service and that such material is routinely removed.

The company said it complies with legal obligations under the European Union's Digital Services Act but did not answer specific questions regarding the German investigation or how the groups remained active for several years.