Second arrest linked to W5 investigation into online network of sexual predators

W5's undercover investigation into an online network of men who secretly drug and film the sexual abuse of their own partners leads to a second arrest.

Warning: This article contains graphic details

A second arrest has now been made following W5’s undercover investigation into a secret online community of men who secretly drug and videotape the sexual abuse of their own partners.

Authorities in Geneva, Switzerland, confirm a suspect is in pre-trial detention for rape and sexual coercion, months after W5 shared evidence with police.

The arrest follows an earlier Canadian case, where information W5 shared with police in Hamilton, Ontario, led to the arrest of 36-year-old Bryan Hayward. The home contractor is behind bars facing a total of 60 charges related to alleged crimes against more than a dozen Canadian women.

‘Henri’

Our Swiss investigation began on a porn website showing a middle-aged woman who appeared unconscious while a masked man assaulted her. Dozens of these videos had been uploaded.

We nicknamed him “Henri.”

While undercover, Henri offered to mentor me online. We exchanged more than a dozen emails in which he described, in chilling detail, how he sedated his wife and filmed her.

“I had a lot of fun with my wife transformed into a toy,” he wrote.

“None of the women I sedated suffered any after-effects, none…”

He even acknowledged her medical condition.

“She has respiratory arrest very rarely, so what? We don’t die from it!”

In our email exchanges, Henri revealed fragments about himself: his first name, profession, and that he lived in Geneva. Putting just those three facts into a LinkedIn search, the profile of a man whose glasses and jawline appeared to match the man in the fox mask.

A wedding video uploaded to YouTube two years ago also appeared after searching his full name on the website.

The bride, celebrating with her friends and family, is the same woman in the abuse videos. Along with a distinctive ring on her hand, Facebook photos of their apartment in Geneva match the apartment in the abuse videos.

Piece by piece, Henri’s digital mask slipped.

Profiling the offender

Veteran Canadian criminal profiler Jim Van Allen analyzed Henri’s emails.

“Henri matches the overall expectations of a drug-facilitated sexual-assault offender,” Van Allen said. “He’s personable, manipulative, narcissistic, and driven by domination.”

Van Allen added that Henri is “playing with fire.”

“He thinks he’s clever. He deserves to be caught.”

W5 provided its evidence, emails, a name, and address to police in Geneva after believing the victim’s life was at risk.

Months later, the Geneva Public Prosecutor’s Office confirmed its findings.

“Proceedings have been opened for rape and sexual coercion. The suspect is in pre-trial detention.”

That confirmation makes this the second arrest directly tied to W5’s Sleeping With the Enemy investigation.

Van Allen says men like Henri rarely reform.

“Ain’t no pill gonna cure this ill,” he said. “Behind bars is gonna stop it.”