‘This never happened, you tell no one and I know where you live.’ These threatening words were spoken by the suspect to young teenage girls after he abused them in 2010. The Public Prosecution Service (OM) demands 7 years imprisonment in appeal for the now 55-year-old suspect from Schiedam. The OM suspects him of raping a 13-year-old girl and a 15-year-old girl. He is also accused of attempting to assault another 15-year-old girl.
In August 2010, a 15-year-old girl comes home from school. She puts her bike in the basement box at her house in Schiedam, and a man follows her inside. Under threat of a knife, he rapes her. Three weeks later, a 13-year-old girl is raped in a basement box in Vlaardingen, and this victim is also threatened with a knife. On the same day, a man forces himself on a 15-year-old girl in another basement box. She doesnt trust him and manages to run away.
Hologram and DNA
For a long time, it remains unclear who the man is. In 2021, the case is reviewed by a cold case team from the police. That team uses a special investigative tool. Based on the descriptions of the victims, a hologram of the perpetrator is created. This lifelike 3D image is shown in the media and on screens in Vlaardingen and Schiedam.
The next step is a large-scale DNA investigation. Dozens of men voluntarily provide DNA. A match is found with the suspect. Earlier, his name was also mentioned by a tipster who recognized him from the hologram.
Appeal
The court sentenced the man last year to 6 years imprisonment for the two rapes. The suspect appealed against this. The OM also appealed against the acquittal for the attempted assault. The initial trial also involved money laundering. That part is not included in the appeal; the trial and thus the demand in appeal concerns the two rapes and one attempted assault.
According to the OM, it is beyond doubt that in all three cases it concerns the same perpetrator and that he is therefore also responsible for the attempted assault of the 15-year-old girl. The perpetrator operates in the same way, states the attorney general (public prosecutor in appeal). “In all cases, the girls were on their way home from school with their bikes when they were suddenly followed by an unknown man on a bike. Once they arrived at their apartment, the girls were also followed to the basement boxes. There, the girls were approached by the man; for the last two victims, he asked for a bike pump. In the case of the third victim, it also seems that the suspect – as in the other two cases – wanted to lure her into a basement box. The suspect kept her occupied by keeping the conversation going and not letting her pass.”
The OM believes that a prison sentence of 7 years is appropriate, partly due to the significant impact the case has had on the victims: “Always looking over your shoulder, always alert, who is biking or walking behind me, what is he or she planning? Tension and fear for the rest of your life,” says the attorney general.