Prosecution appeals Lusanne kidnapper jail term

24 March 2004

AMSTERDAM — The public prosecutor’s office (OM) has announced it will appeal against the jail term imposed on the kidnapper of 11-year-old Lusanne van der Gunn, claiming that the court did not take into account the seriousness of the crime.

Kidnapper Simon S. was convicted and jailed for five years in the Leeuwarden Court on 11 March, but the prosecution had demanded an eight-year jail term.

The OM confirmed on Wednesday it will appeal against the ruling, but S. has decided against seeking a reduced sentence by lodging an appeal of his own, newspaper De Volkskrant reported.

Lusanne was kidnapped while she was riding to school in the Friesian village of Oldeberkoop in August 2003, but was released unharmed two days later in the eastern city of Venlo.

Besides the jail term, 64-year-old S. — who tried to extort a ransom of EUR 200,000 from Lusanne’s family — was also ordered to pay EUR 5,000 in compensation to the school girl and EUR 1,000 to her parents.

Lusanne is being treated by a child psychologist and her parents fear she might suffer unpredictable traumatic consequences as a result of her abduction.

Subject: Dutch news