A 40-year-old man from Maastricht is suspected of having repeatedly committed official corruption during his two-year tenure as a probation officer. The Public Prosecution Service (OM) in Limburg demanded a prison sentence of 24 months, of which 6 months are conditional, with special conditions and repayment of an amount exceeding 15,000 euros.
The accused worked until July 2024 at Reclassering Nederland as a “Community Service Employee”. His clients were individuals who had been sentenced to community service. It was the responsibility of the accused to ensure that the community service was carried out promptly and properly. However, he actively approached twelve clients with an offer to buy off the community service imposed by the court. In nine cases, the convicted individuals agreed to this. After receiving an amount of money ranging from €100 to €2,400, the man registered the community service in the registration system of the Probation Service as completed, while this was not the case. Thus, he committed, in the view of the OM, multiple instances of passive official bribery and forgery.
For the proper functioning of our democratic society, it is of utmost importance that citizens can trust that officials perform their duties with integrity. This trust is violated when officials engage in corruption. The accused knew that our government had placed its trust in him to perform his duties with integrity and thus contribute to ensuring that convicts actually serve their sentences. Nevertheless, he knowingly violated the trust placed in him.
The OM considers a prison sentence of 24 months, of which 6 months are conditional, to be appropriate. Among the special conditions, probation supervision for a period of 3 years has been requested. Additionally, a professional ban from being an official for a duration of 5 years has been requested. The OM also demands that he repay the unlawfully obtained benefit worth over 15,000 euros.
The court will rule in two weeks.
The nine clients who accepted the probation officers offer and bought off the imposed community service must account for this later this week.