German woman says was drugged, raped, filmed by ex-partner: report

A German woman has accused her ex-partner of drugging and raping her for years in sex abuse acts he filmed, Der Spiegel reported Friday, adding that most of the alleged crimes may never go to trial.

The woman, Claudia Wuttke, told the news weekly that after learning about the alleged abuse, she was shaken by "a second earthquake" when she was told most of the crimes would go unpunished because of a five-year statute of limitations.

But the Hamburg public prosecutor's office handling the case told AFP later, after the report was published, that it is reopening the investigation to see if other crimes can still be charged.

Der Spiegel pointed to parallels with the French case of Gisele Pelicot, who for years was unknowingly drugged by her ex-husband and raped by dozens of men, then won global admiration for her unsparing public testimony and bravery.

In the German case, 59-year-old Wuttke, an author from the northern city of Hamburg, told the magazine that she only learned of the alleged crimes last June after police discovered videos of the sex abuse on a laptop and contacted her.

A total of 67 videos had been found, allegedly filmed over 16 years and showing Wuttke being subjected to oral, vaginal and anal penetration, the Weekly wrote.

In an especially shocking case, she was allegedly abused with a baseball bat that was inserted anally.

"It was the first earthquake," Wuttke told Der Spiegel, adding that she had "known nothing about" the abuse beforehand.

Since the most recent video was from 2021, there remained no other physical evidence that might prove the drugging or the sexual violence.

- Legal reform gone wrong? -
 

Wuttke told Der Spiegel that she was shaken again when she learned last November that authorities had dropped investigations into 65 of the 67 cases because of the five-year statute of limitations.

Only two cases could be pursued: one from 2021; the other for the alleged baseball bat rape because it involved the use of a "dangerous instrument" and was committed "in exceptional circumstances".

"It's simply unacceptable that the vast majority of what was done to me should go unpunished," Wuttke told the weekly.

The prosecutor's office told AFP later on Friday that they are now seeking "to further clarify the facts through continued investigations".

Wuttke's lawyer did not immediately reply to messages from AFP.

Der Spiegel said that the lawyer for Wuttke's ex-partner, who was not named, declined to comment citing client confidentiality.

Until 2016, the statute of limitations on rape in Germany was 20 years.

But according to Der Spiegel, an apparent oversight during a reform to toughen up Germany's sexual assault laws ended up shortening the statute of limitations.

The reforms were passed under former chancellor Angela Merkel, prompted in part by a series of sexual assaults during New Year's Eve celebrations in the western city of Cologne.

Wuttke's attorney told Der Spiegel that the current legal situation is "absurd".

Hamburg's justice minister, Anna Gallina, told AFP that she would work towards lengthening the statute of limitations for certain serious sex crimes.

"Due to fear, shame, or trauma, not every victim reports such a crime promptly," Gallina said Friday, with many victims only coming forward much later.

According to Der Spiegel, Germany's justice ministry is also now conducting a review of whether "changes to the statute of limitations" are necessary for sexual offences.