Expatica news

Appeal court cuts sentence on Nienke’s killer

22 November 2005

AMSTERDAM — The Appeals court in The Hague has imposed an 18-year sentence, followed by compulsory TBS psychiatric treatment, on Wik H. on Tuesday.

H., a 26-year-old man from the Hoek van Holland, admitted earlier this year that he killed Nienke Kleiss, 10, in the Beatrix Park in Schiedam in June 2000.

The prosecution had asked the appeal court to impose a life sentence. Earlier this year  the trial court in Rotterdam had jailed H. for 20 years for the killing.

The prosecution said a life sentence was appropriate to protect society and to underline that H, had killed the girl and seriously assaulted her friend, Maikel, 11, to prevent them identifying him.

The judges hearing the appeal said this had not been proven beyond a doubt to be the motive. The court also qualified Nienke’s death as a form of manslaughter. 

The court ruled that H. can begin his TBS psychiatric treatment after he has served two thirds of his jail sentence.

The case is very controversial as last year another man, Cees B., was cleared of the wrongful conviction for killing Nienke. Because B. was near the scene of the killing and police believed he fitted the profile of a paedophile, B. was arrested.

He initially confessed to killing Nienke but later retracted his statement. Nevertheless he was convicted and sentenced to 18 years with TBS.

Last summer the police arrested H. for an attempted sexual assault and he admitted being the man who killed Nienke. DNA evidence confirmed this and B. was released. H. also admitted carrying out a very violent rape in The Hague in 2002.

B. is now seeking damages from the State and police and prosecutors have faced criticism for the way they dealt with the case.

[Copyright Expatica News + ANP 2005]

Subject: Dutch news