Dutch serial rapist arrested in Bulgaria

A convicted Dutch sex offender was arrested in the Bulgarian capital of Sofia on suspicion of rape. Johan S., nicknamed the 'Valium rapist' in the Netherlands, served a 5 year long prison sentence in the Netherlands for a series of rapes, RTL Nieuws reports.

The Bulgarian police confirmed the Dutch man's arrest to RTL, but would give no further details. The court in Sofia imposed house arrest on S. and ordered him not to leave the country. According to local media, S. picked up a 32-year-old woman at a cafe in Sofia on Christmas Day and took her to his home. There he drugged her drink and raped her.

S. is known as the "Valium rapist" in the Netherlands because he raped multiple women in 2006 after drugging them with Valium, according to RTL. At the time, the Public Prosecutor spread his name and photo, and warned women against him. The man was eventually arrested in Brazil. In 2009, the court in The Hague sentenced him to ten years in prison for two rapes. His sentence was reduced to five years and eight months on appeal.

The Dutch man was also accused of rape by a woman in Malta in 2014. And he was arrested in Barcelona for a rape in 2016, the broadcaster writes.