Lower jail terms for child sex abusers

16 June 2004

AMSTERDAM — The Arnhem Court sentenced five men on Wednesday to jail terms ranging from eight months to three years on charges of child sex abuse. The sentences were considerably less than what the prosecution had demanded.

The men were convicted of sexually abusing male youths and were found guilty of the possession and spread of child pornography. The cases against two co-accused men were adjourned until 28 July.

The prosecution demanded two weeks ago that the men should be sentenced to jail terms ranging between six and eights, plus TBS psychiatric detention with compulsory treatment, news agency ANP reported.

But the court only sentenced one of the men — a 34-year-old Kollum man — to TBS detention with compulsory treatment. TBS detainees can effectively be detained for life because psychiatrists can regularly advise against their release.

The prosecution alleged the seven men were members of criminal network that organised sex trips to Tunisia, where boys were picked up from slum neighbourhoods and paid for sex.

According to the court, the defendants mutually co-operated with each other, but ruled that the relationship between them was largely coincidental and lacked a structure. It thus ruled they were not members of a criminal network.

Due to the fact that the prosecution had linked the sex trips to the allegations that the men were involved in a criminal network, the defendants were acquitted on the sex holiday charges.

The men were members of a discussion group for paedophiles, JON. The group was part of the Dutch Association for Sexual Reform (NVSH) and sex plans were forged during JON meetings. Some boys were sexually abused for many years.

The 35-year-old C. V., of Arnhem, was sentenced to the longest jail term; three years with six months suspended. He was found guilty of sexually abusing a large number of male youths.

Subject: Dutch news