The suspect had previously been hailed as a “hero in Ukraine” by the media in his home country
A German mercenary suspected of repeated sex offenses at home has been arrested in Ukraine, according to Der Spiegel magazine. The former German Armed Forces soldier who joined Kiev’s forces was previously described as a “hero” in several German media publications.
Identified only as Ben R., the former German soldier stands accused of rape and sexual assault, as well as possessing and distributing child pornography in Germany and raping a minor in Ukraine, according to the German media reports. The suspect now faces extradition to Germany, Der Spiegel wrote over the weekend, citing the regional public prosecutor’s office in the German state of Bavaria.
The paper also published a lengthy piece detailing his case back in December. The man reportedly fled to Ukraine and joined the fight against Russia on Kiev’s side to avoid criminal charges at home.
According to Der Spiegel, the suspect joined the German Armed Forces in 2013 and signed a contract for 12 years, until 2025.
In 2021, the military launched an investigation against him, according to the Office of the Armed Forces Parliamentary Commissioner. That followed after at least four women accused him of sexual harassment or even rape. Two of them withdrew their complaints later, Der Spiegel said, adding that one of them allegedly faced threats from the suspect.
All the investigations against him were then discontinued “for various reasons,” the paper added.
The man reportedly came to the attention of German law enforcement again in early 2022 following a tip-off from the US National Center for Missing and Exploited Children. American security services alerted their German colleagues about child pornography attributed to Ben R. being distributed on the online platform Discord. In March 2022, the German police raided the suspect’s home in Bavaria, confiscating his electronic devices, including three hard drives and two laptops.
Ben R. then swiftly moved to Ukraine, with the German authorities having “no reason to apply for an arrest warrant” against him at that time. In Ukraine, he reportedly joined a unit providing medical assistance to frontline fighters.
In June 2022, the German tabloid Bild published a story about Ben R., where he was portrayed as a “German hero” saving the “lives of Ukrainian soldiers.” The man claimed to journalists he had joined the military to “help people” and spoke about his wish to join a Ukrainian combat unit himself.
Back in Germany, investigators discovered that devices seized from Ben R’s apartment during the March raid contained “a total of 5,700 photos and around 420 videos showing sexualized violence against children,” including sexual acts and alleged cases of rape, according to Der Spiegel. Apart from that, ammunition taken from German army stocks was also found in his apartment.
In September 2022, Bavarian prosecutors filed an EU-wide arrest warrant against the man. However, he was still communicating with Bild almost a year after that, according to Der Spiegel. In summer 2023, he reportedly told Bild that he was officially part of the Ukrainian army and was receiving between €2,000 and €2,500 ($2,069 to $2,586) for his service.
The German authorities first requested his extradition from Ukraine in 2023 but received no reply from Kiev. In November of that year, new pornographic materials linked to Ben R. were discovered on the internet. A total of 136 images and videos were allegedly filmed and uploaded by him during his stay in Ukraine, according to Der Spiegel. On the videos, women were reportedly begging him to stop, with some of them appearing to be stunned or having visible injuries.
The investigators now suspect the man of at least six new instances of rape. In late 2023, the second EU arrest warrant was issued against him. The evidence against Ben R. was also sent to the Ukrainian police. He is now also being investigated in Ukraine on suspicion of raping a minor, the German media reported.
