![\"Iwona](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/MXR6EDBS6BBFTKIOW73PQ5SDB4.JPG\")
Iwona and her Irish daughter Paula near their home in Untersiggenthal, Switzerland. Photograph: Alan Betson\/The Irish Times<\/p>\n
Frei was a member of the right-wing Swiss People\u2019s Party (SVP) and sat on the government body in the Canton of Aargau. Before resigning from his position after the allegations came to light, he was known for taking a hard stance against immigration and calling for tougher sentences.<\/p>\n
The nature of the alleged offences have caused Swiss media to compare the case to that of Gis\u00e8le Pelicot<\/a>, a French woman who went public after being drugged by her husband and raped by dozens of men.<\/p>\n In an interview, Paula, who is now 18, told The Irish Times they first met Frei while on holiday in Spain<\/a>. Iwona and Frei began a relationship and he frequently visited them in Ireland, where they lived at the time.<\/p>\n In 2022, Iwona and Paula moved in with Frei in Switzerland and Iwona became his housekeeper. In September 2023, Iwona said she caught Frei coming out of her daughter\u2019s room one night with a GoPro camera.<\/p>\n She called the police, who reviewed the footage on the camera and immediately arrested Frei. He has been in custody since.<\/p>\n Police found dozens of videos which prosecutors say showed Paula and Iwona being raped and sexually abused over the course of 15 months.<\/p>\n The first alleged incident involving Paula occurred 12 days after she arrived in Switzerland, the videos show. Prosecutors alleged Frei abused Paula for a total of 40 hours over the course of 40 different nights.<\/p>\n Both victims were unconscious throughout the incidents and have no memory of them. Prosecutors alleged Frei administered powerful date-rape drugs to knock them out before abusing them. <\/p>\n This led authorities to charge Frei with attempted murder as well as sexual offences. The alleged drugging of the mother and daughter could have caused suffocation at any time, prosecutors say.<\/p>\n A year after police began to investigate Frei, Swiss immigration authorities issued a deportation order against Paula and Iwona. <\/p>\n They argued the work visa arranged by Frei for Iwona was fraudulent. They also ruled the mother and daughter, who had no income after Frei\u2019s arrest, were only entitled to emergency financial assistance rather than full social welfare payments.<\/p>\n Police also investigated Iwona after Frei alleged she had stolen items from his house. The charges were later dropped.<\/p>\n As an Irish citizen, Paula sought help from the Irish Department of Foreign Affairs. Iwona, who is from Poland, sought assistance from the Polish embassy.<\/p>\n The Irish embassy said it could not get involved in legal matters. It later suggested other legal remedies. Paula said she is unhappy with the level of assistance offered by Irish officials. \u201cThat broke my heart a little bit,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n![\"Iwona](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/T3BAP46M6FHNRFSFXNEWDQIEIM.JPG\")
Iwona and her daughter Paula, who was 14 at the time of the alleged sexual abuse by Patrick Frei. Photograph: Alan Betson\/The Irish Times<\/p>\n