A Belgian man will spend 10 years behind bars after he was found guilty of drugging and raping three of his ex-partners.
The 61-year-old, named locally as Jan M., was also discovered to have taken at least 100,000 intimate images of his victims – including his underage stepdaughter – without their knowledge over a period of 25 years.
Jan M., originally from a suburb of Antwerp called Brasschaat, was arrested in March 2025 after his 17-year-old stepdaughter discovered a hidden camera in a bathroom cupboard.
The teen then informed her mother, who had been in a relationship with Jan M. for around a decade, and reported him to the police.
Following a search of his home, the man, a former executive at a Japanese firm, told cops he had only used cameras to record his partner, whom he suspected of being unfaithful.
He insisted that he ‘immediately deleted’ the images of his stepdaughter, according to local newspaper Het Laatste Nieuws.
It was then that investigators discovered around 100,000 nude images of his ex-partners, his stepdaughter and her friend on his computer and phone – all of which were taken without their knowledge.
They also unearthed videos of him having sex with their partners, leading investigators to consider the possibility of sexual relations after the victims were drugged.
Sentencing him to 10 years in prison at a court in Antwerp, the judge said: ‘His browsing history speaks volumes. It reveals that the accused was interested in incestuous, forced, and violent sexual relations, for which he sought drugs with a sedative effect.’
Walter Damen, representing the victims, was quick to compare Jan M. to Dominique Pelicot, who admitted to drugging his wife Gisele for almost a decade and inviting dozens of men to rape her while she was unconscious.
He was found guilty on all charges last year and sentenced to 20 years in prison, which was the maximum possible.
He admitted his role and did not appeal.
All 50 of his co-defendants were also found guilty of various charges related to the case.
The trial drew international attention after Gisele opposed a closed hearing, a demand made by several defendants.
Her courage inspired campaigners against sexual and sexist violence, and the shocking case spurred a national reckoning over rape culture in France.
The evidence included stomach-churning homemade videos of rapes and assaults that Dominique Pelicot filmed in the couple’s home in the small Provence town of Mazan and elsewhere.
