Hungarian police part of operation dismantling international online network specializing in drugging and raping women

During an international police operation involving seven countries, investigators uncovered an online network whose members used chat rooms to share their experiences, photos, and videos of drugging and raping women – according to CNN.

According to Europol and the UK’s National Crime Agency (NCA), which have been coordinating the operation codenamed “Project Medusa” since April, European investigators have so far identified more than 150 perpetrators and victims in the case, with more than 270 new leads uncovered and 57 people taken into custody. The NCA estimates that the actual number of crimes committed could be considerably higher.

“Drug-facilitated sexual assault is no longer an isolated phenomenon; rather, it is becoming more and more organized, taking place through coordinated networks and facilitated by digital platforms, which requires more sophisticated operational responses,” the investigators stated.

According to the statement from the NCA, the cross-border investigation was initiated by German and British law enforcement agencies, and was carried out with the assistance of law enforcement agencies in the United States, Brazil, Canada, France, Hungary, the Netherlands, and Spain, to combat the “ever-evolving threat.” We have contacted the Hungarian police about the role of the Hungarian authorities and any potential Hungarian connections to the subject, and will report back as soon as we receive a response.

The international investigation was launched after one of the most serious—and at the same time, most bizarre—rape cases in French history came to light. For ten years, Dominique Pelicot had repeatedly drugged his wife with high doses of sedatives and, while she was unconscious, he, and other men he had recruited online, raped her. A French court handed down its verdict in the case last December, sentencing Dominique Pelicot to twenty years in prison. Gisèle Pelicot, who agreed to a public trial, became a heroine in the fight against gender-based violence, and the case has become a landmark as significant as the #MeToo movement. Since then, similar crimes have been uncovered in several European countries, including Germany and Poland.

As part of “Project Medusa,” investigators uncovered a highly organized criminal network whose members drug and rape their partners and use online chat groups to facilitate and encourage their attacks. According to the police, these online groups “provide a safe haven” for the predominantly male perpetrators, where they coordinate attacks, share information, and post videos and photos of the assaults.

As in Pelicot’s case, most victims were unaware they had been abused until the police contacted them. In most cases, the abuse was committed " by someone they know and trust, and in some cases by multiple connected offenders".

According to Europol, members of the network use encrypted messaging services, forums, and closed chat groups to exchange information and coordinate their criminal activities. They also share information with one another about which drugs to obtain and where to get them, how to administer them, and how to avoid getting caught.

The police warn that victims can be of any age, social background, or ability, and urge anyone who suspects they have been the victim of drug-facilitated sexual assault to report it to law enforcement.