Skip to main content

Home News News World

Man spared jail for raping man at Oktoberfest by saying he’s not gay

By Ross Semple

A man who raped another man at a German beer festival has been spared jail after claiming he isn’t gay.

The attack occurred at Oktoberfest in Munich last year. The attacker, a 38-year old lawyer from Ukraine, raped a 32-year-old American man who was unconscious.

The rapist, known only as Sergeii C, forced his victim to perform oral sex on him at the festival. Sergeii admitted the crime and tried to blame alcohol for his actions. “I had drunk at least six litres of beer,” he said in court. “I cannot explain it to myself. I am not homosexual.”

Dismissing the attack as “spontaneous affection”, Sergeii said he “would have never done it” unless he thought the man had consented.

The rapist was subsequently given a two-year suspended sentence as punishment for the crime.

Two Spanish tourists who were in attendance at the festival witnessed the attack, and initially mistook it for a robbery. “He grabbed the victim in the leather pants at the front,” one of them told the court.

“We thought at first it was a robbery. But then he made clear movements that surprised us.”

There were 31 sex crimes reported at last year’s Oktoberfest, up from 21 the previous year.

More news:
Stonewall, Black Pride urge Pride organisers to reject blackface acts
New Google Doodle celebrates legacy of LGBT rainbow flag creator who died in April