Fake profiles of Collien Fernandes Cyber sex offenses: these criminal offenses apply

Fake profiles, deepfake porn and identity theft: what is being discussed in the Fernandes case also affects Switzerland. A lawyer explains which criminal offenses apply - and where the law reaches its limits.

Collien Fernandes makes serious accusations against her ex-husband Christian Ulmen. The presenter says that she has been the victim of fake profiles, deepfake porn and identity abuse on the internet for years. Ulmen is said to be behind some of these activities. The allegations relate to a period of several years and were first made public by "Der Spiegel". Fernandes is pressing criminal charges against her ex.

"My body was stolen from me"Collien Fernandes reports ex-husband Christian Ulmen to the police

Three possible facts in Ulmen's case

What is the legal situation in Switzerland? blue News asked Sarah Schläppi, Managing Director of the law firm Bracher und Partner, which specializes in cybercrime. Schläppi says the following about the Ulmen case as it stands: "The facts of the case describe a systematic approach that has been going on for years: Fake profiles, sexual contact in the name of another person, pornographic deepfakes with hundreds of calls."

Schläppi says that "prima vista, three cumulative offenses" come into question here:

1. the creation of fake profiles fulfills the abuse of identity according to Art 179decies StGB.

2. the pornographic depictions could be qualified as defamation if they damage the public reputation of the person concerned

3. depending on the content of the deepfake videos, Art. 197 StGB (pornography) is also relevant.

These criminal laws apply in Switzerland

Schläppi goes on to explain: "Art. 179decies StGB, which has been in force since September 2023, explicitly criminalizes identity fraud - i.e. impersonating another person with the intention of causing harm." However, Swiss law does not have a separate offense for non-consensual pornographic deepfakes involving adults.

Schläppi also explains: "Existing norms such as defamation or pornography only partially cover the phenomenon." Germany has created a specific offense with Section 201b StGB ("Violation of personal rights through digital falsification"), which was submitted to the Bundestag on 27 August 2025. A comparable regulation does not yet exist in Switzerland.

Up to five years in prison

Schläppi says of the penalties for the aforementioned offenses: "They vary greatly. Identity misuse carries a prison sentence of up to one year or a fine, while defamation and pornography carry a prison sentence of up to three years or a fine." Blackmail by means of deepfakes could result in a prison sentence of up to five years or a fine.

"It should also be noted that identity theft and defamation are criminal offenses - the deadline for filing a criminal complaint is three months from the time the perpetrator becomes aware of the crime," says Schläppi.

How to protect yourself

If you want to protect yourself from such abuse, you should act preventively: "It's best to set social media profiles to private and consciously control your own image presence. In addition, regular image searches, for example with Google Reverse Image Search, help to identify misuse at an early stage."

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Schläppi continues: "If you are affected, you should immediately save evidence - screenshots, URLs, timestamps - before reporting content. It is also advisable to file a criminal complaint with the police or the public prosecutor's office, even against unknown persons. It is also important to keep an eye on the three-month deadline for filing a complaint. "If you let this expire, you can no longer file a criminal complaint," says the expert.