It’s a tale stranger than fiction. A 52-year-old former actor in gay pornography films and father of four who had become a German intelligence agent has been given a one-year suspended sentence for attempting to share state secrets while pretending to be a jihadist online, writes The Guardian.
“Roque M” (an alias), 52, was arrested last November. Originally, German authorities thought that he was an Islamist mole working in that country’s domestic spy agency, but the charges were dropped after prosecutors found no evidence of an attack plot or any ties to Islamist groups.
So why did he pretend to be a jihadist online? He was bored. Roque M told the court, “the whole thing was like a game,” and that he had never met with an Islamists. At one point, he monitored Islamist activity while working for Germany’s Office for the Protection of the Constitution (BfV). He told the court that he got bored on weekends while home with his disabled son, so, as an “escape from reality,” he immersed himself in Islamist chatrooms and pretended to be one himself.
He did arrange a meeting with a suspected Islamist at a gym, but claims he was never going to go, reports The Guardian. Roque M was arrested after he offered to share classified information about BvF’s operations to a colleague who was working undercover.
According to The Guardian, the case had sparked anger within the ranks of German security, since it originally seemed like an Islamist had infiltrated the intelligence community, all of whom must to pass multiple background screenings before being hired. Roque M’s past as an actor in gay pornography also surprised many who thought that would have been disqualifying. But since there is no evidence that Roque M was involved in an Islamist plot, the sole charge he faces is attempting to share state secrets.
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