Dutch ‘valium rapist’ sentenced to nine years in Bulgaria for brutal assault
Johan S., a 44-year-old Dutch man from Sassenheim known as the “Valium rapist” for drugging women before raping them, was sentenced to nine years in prison in Sofia, Bulgaria, for the rape and assault of a 32-year-old Bulgarian woman, Omroep West reported.
He previously served time in the Netherlands for violent sexual assaults and was arrested in Bulgaria in December 2019. Maltese authorities have now requested his extradition for additional charges.
The Bulgarian case centers on the night of December 25, 2019, when the woman was found severely injured on a street in Sofia, with cuts around her vagina and anus. Authorities said S. picked her up at a café and took her to his apartment. The victim reported that her drink had been spiked, leaving her drowsy, and said S. brutally raped her while wearing women’s underwear.
After the case became public, a second woman from Budapest, Hungary, came forward with similar allegations. She had been in a relationship with S., who reportedly used a fake name. She claimed she had been drugged and assaulted, though the Bulgarian court later acquitted him of this charge.
Following his arrest, S. denied all allegations. He was initially released under house arrest in January 2020 but was returned to custody after public outcry. His lawyers claimed he was at risk of abuse in prison, but the courts and prosecutors insisted he remain behind bars pending trial.
Malta has issued a European arrest warrant for S., seeking prosecution for five cases, including fleeing the country while facing ongoing charges. In 2016, he faced rape and extortion charges in Malta involving an ex-girlfriend, but did not appear in court, reportedly because he was detained in Barcelona for another rape case. He remained unaccounted for until his December 2019 arrest in Sofia.
In the Netherlands, S. was convicted in 2007 for a series of violent rapes. Initially sentenced to ten years, the Dutch Court of Appeal later reduced his sentence to five years and eight months, ruling that evidence of drugging his victims was not proven. After serving his sentence, he relocated to Malta.
