Who is Roque M? Porn Star Turned Spy Gets Sentenced in Germany

A former German Intelligence agent who was once a performer in gay pornography has been suspended for one year by the Düsseldorf Court for attempting to share state secrets while pretending to be a jihadist online.

Identified as Roque M, a 52-year-old former banker and a father of four, he first garnered attention when he was arrested in November 2016 in what was apparently a case of an Islamist mole at work in Germany’s domestic spy agency.

Roque M. began working for the Federal Office for the Protection of the Constitution or Bundesamt für Verfassungsschutz (BfV) in April 2016, when he was assigned to keep an eye on radical Salafist groups online. During his trial, Roque M described his job as a “lot of fun,” as reported by Russia Today.

He, however, was freed in July this year because there wasn’t enough proof of him plotting an attack or significant ties to Islamist groups. During his trial for treason in the western city of Düsseldorf, although he denied ties to any Islamist group, he did confess to the court that he pretended to be a jihadist planning an attack in online chatrooms because he was bored.

“I never met with any Islamists. I would never do that. The whole thing was like a game,” he said, the Guardian reported.

He further explained how he got bored during the weekends while taking care of his disabled son and subsequently involved himself in the online world of Islamists, pretending to be one. He called it “an escape from reality.”

His activities first came to light when a colleague working undercover was speaking to him and Roque M offered to share classified information about BfV operations. Initially, the case was not taken lightly by the German spy agency as they feared that they had allowed an “Islamist” to creep into their team. They conducted an investigation which led to Roque M. being revealed as a former gay pornstar which further enthralled the public.

An officer from the Intelligence agency discussed the matter with Washington Post anonymously in an article published on Nov. 30, 2016, where he claimed that it was impossible to protect the agency against a breach like this.

According to him, Roque M was thoroughly vetted before he was hired so even officials in German security circles were wondering how such a lapse was possible.

A senior Intelligence officer who interviewed him then said that Roque M may have been mentally ill, and perhaps even had multiple personalities, The Washington Post reported.

However, in light of the latest developments in the case, no evidence was finally submitted in the court of law about an actual Islamic plot, the prosecutors charged Roque M with attempting to share state secrets and then suspended him for 12 months.

Germany has been under attack from radical Islamist groups. The most recent being in December 2016 when Tunisian National Anis Amri hijacked a lorry with a Polish number plate, belonging to a delivery company named Ariel Żurawski. The polish driver identified as Lukasz Urban was shot dead by Amri who then drove the lorry into the Berlin Christmas market which was packed with tourists and locals, at Breitscheidplatz, near Berlin's famous Kaiser Wilhelm Memorial Church.

Witnesses said the lorry drove 50-80 meters (160-260 ft) through the market at about 64km/h (40mph), as it sent market stalls flying, leaving a trail of debris and casualties, the BBC reported.

Though Amri was caught three days after the incident and shot to death by the Italian police in Milan, the attack was claimed by the Islamic State militant group (ISIS).