Police in Berlin have confirmed that the convicted rapist Sven H. has been on the loose since February 6, after escaping from his minders during a visit to Friedrichshain.

Prisoner Sven H. escapes in Berlin

Sven H., a 54-year-old man who has been serving a prison sentence for rape since 2000, has been on the run in Berlin since Tuesday, police in the German city have confirmed. Sven H. managed to evade his minders during a trip to social services providers on Pettenkofferstraße in the Friedrichshain neighbourhood. 

Since 2019, when he was transferred from a prison in Brandenburg to JVA Tegel, where he is in post-sentence preventative detention, Sven H. has been allowed regular outings. The outing on Tuesday was H.’s 110th since the prison move in 2019. Prison services are legally obliged to give preventative detention prisoners these outings, which are intended to prepare them for life after release.

Escaped prisoner should be considered dangerous, say police

In an announcement, police union spokesperson Benjamin Jendro confirmed that Sven H. should be considered dangerous, adding that criminals serving a preventative detention sentence are of particular threat. 

“You don’t just get [a preventative detention sentence] because you stole chewing gum, but because you have committed the most serious crimes, and it is assumed that this person continues to be dangerous to the population,” said Jendro.

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