Story By: Kathryn Quinn, Sub-Editor: Joseph Golder, Agency: Central European News
A man known as the plug sadist is facing 88 counts of attempted murder after convincing women and girls as young as 15 to give themselves potentially deadly 230v electric shocks while he watched on Skype.
Identified only as David G. because of local privacy laws, the 30-year-old from Rimpar, a market town in the district of Wurzburg in the German state of Bavaria, is in court in the Bavarian capital Munich accused of giving instructions to the women on how to give electric shocks to themselves.
The court heard he was so persuasive, on occasion he even managed to persuade the girls’ parents to help in his ‘experiments’ and made recordings of their suffering using Skype.
He targeted his victims aged between 15 and 30 via eBay adverts claiming to be Dr Christian Vogel who was looking for participants for a study on sexual electric shock fetishes saying they would receive 3,000 EUR (2,572 GBP) for their participation. The court heard none of those that took part were ever paid.
The electric cable was obtained by the women under his instructions when it was usually cut off of electrical devices in the house like clothes irons or music players.
A video of Natalie P., 27, was shown to the court which shows scenes of her chat with David G.
She had allegedly agreed to take part in the so-called study.
In the video, which has not been released, Natalie P. can allegedly be seen turning round, before the camera moves to her naked feet where cables and a power distributor can be seen. The woman is seen putting her toes around a nail sticking out of a plug socket, she kneels down, puts a plug in the plughole and then uses a spoon to stroke across her feet.
The woman then screamed loudly before grabbing her foot.
Natalie P., from the German capital of Berlin told the court that it happened four years ago and she agreed to the experiments as she was desperate for the money.
In court, judge Thomas Bott asked Natalie P.: “Do you know this man?”
She answered: “Of course I know him, but I have never met him in person.”
When asked why she participated, she said: “I had little money, and was looking for jobs on eBay ads. The accused contacted me and said he was working as a scientist and was conducting experiments into electric stimulation. He really made a serious impression. I agreed as I needed the money.”
His apparent academic title persuaded the woman it was OK. She said: “I also have a background in science.”
She added: “He gave me instructions and I had to use cables, a lamp, a metal and a wooden spoon. He then told me to put a metal nail between my toes and then touch the power and then to take the metal spoon and stroke it over the bottom of my foot. He said it would tickle a bit.”
Natalie P. was asked to carry out two trial runs before David G. asked: “Can you try and keep your foot on there longer and show your foot to the camera.”
Natalie P. said: “Do I really have to?” He answered: “Yes, unfortunately, I need you to do it on both feet.”
“In one of the attempts, I caught the cable and got a large shock. Every muscle cramped, my back spasmed, I struggled to breathe and was lying o the floor. On my hand I got a blister.”
She told the court: “230 volts of electricity were sent through my body, I realised it was a stupid idea. Who would build something with spoons and cables and connect it to the power? I was so embarrassed. But he appeared so serious and I just wanted the money.”
The case came to light after a 16-year-old was taken to hospital after falling unconscious. The prosecutor said: “When she regained consciousness she carried out the experiment again at least three times, losing consciousness every time. The girl was taken to hospital where she told doctors about the experiments and they informed the police.”
David G. who is an IT specialist and who the court heard had a fetish for feet was arrested in February 2018. Bizarrely because the evidence in the court in part had to do with the man’s sexual desires, the judge Thomas Bolt, 52, ordered much of the proceedings to take place behind closed doors.
He ruled that the public had no right to know about his sadism and his foot fetish saying: “It is a characteristic of this case that involves the satisfaction of sexual urges. Therefore the evidence will revolve around the sex life and intimate personal desires of the defendant. Accordingly the right to protect this information outweighs the desire to keep the public informed about the details.”
The prosecutor took two hours to outline details including the fact that many victims carried out the experiments multiple times, and many suffered burns, cramps, heart irregularities and some even lost consciousness.
The prosecutor added: “The victims believed he was a scientist and there was no danger to them to carry out the experiment, that’s why they agreed. But the accused was fully aware that 230 volts was enough to kill a person.”
David G.’s defence lawyers Klaus W. Spiegel and Matthias Bohn claim their client had diminished responsibility for his actions as he suffers from Asperger Syndrome and autism.
David G. told his lawyers: “It was an attempt to communicate with the environment.”
Police were able to track down a large number of his victims as he kept over a hundred Skype videos of the experiments on his PC. Some reportedly took part in the ‘experiment’ multiple times. According to some reports, he had over 100 videos and not all his alleged victims have been tracked down.
The case continues.
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