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12 years in prison for sexual assault of Dutch boy found dead in 1998
FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 20, 2020 - 15:20
On Friday the court sentenced Jos B. to 12 years in prison for the sexual abuse and deprivation of liberty of 11-year-old Nicky Verstappen, acts which resulted in the boy's death in 1998. B. was also convicted of the habitual ownership of child pornography, for which he was ordered to serve an additional six months.
Wow! 6 months. That'll really teach him!
It's curious that the pervert's name has not been released in full since he was found guilty.
He was acquitted of the charge of manslaughter, the court ruled, even though it said the evidence showed that Verstappen's death was unnatural and happened as a result of the commission of a crime. It agreed with expert testimony that said the young boy died from oxygen deficiency as a result of suffocation.
Dear God in Heaven!
The defense team in the case said they planned to appeal the conviction.
The boy was found dead in the Brunssumerheide woods, where he was on summer camp. During the trial, B. argued that he found the boy's body in the woods, but did not kill him. He said he saw the boy and went to check if he was still alive. He explained that his DNA was on Nicky's body because he straightened the child's clothes. "I could do nothing more for him," the man said about why he then left the child's body in the woods.
And if you believe that story, I have a tropical island on the coast of Labrador for sale cheap!
The Public Prosecution Service did not believe this version of events. "There is only one suspect and he is not only the suspect, but also the perpetrator," the prosecutor said during the trial. The court agreed, saying that DNA evidence found on Verstappen's pajama pants and underwear showed that the offender had extensive contact with the boy over an extended period of time, and that contact with the injuries to the child's anus demonstrated that he was likely penetrated with the perpetrator's penis or finger.
"Thus, you are the perpetrator of sexual abuse," the court said to B. As for the manslaughter charge, the judge acknowledged that it may have been unintended, and said prosecutors failed to prove the charge. "This acquittal does not mean that B. cannot be blamed for Nicky's death. Without you, without your actions, Nicky Verstappen would have been alive on the evening of August 10, 1998."
"This verdict is actually incorrect on all aspects," said B.'s attorney, Gerald Roethof. He said the court was wrongly swayed by the story the prosecuting attorneys put forward. "'I'm not going to accept punishment for something I did not do.' Those were his words and on that basis I am appealing," Roethof told reporters after the verdict was read.
The Prosecutor described B. as a repeat offender, who abused children in the 1980s and downloaded child pornography. Two witnesses said they saw B. with Nicky on the day of his death.
The cause of the boy's death was never determined with 100 percent certainty, but all natural causes were ruled out, the prosecutor said. Two pathologists who did an autopsy of the boy's body concluded that he was raped before he was killed. Nicky's pajama bottoms and underwear were inside out when his body was found, indicating that he may have been redressed.
The Prosecutor does not know exactly what happened, but this is not necessary to prove B.'s guilt, he said. The suspect's DNA could not have ended up on the boy in an innocent way - his DNA was found in 21 places on Nicky's body and underwear. An expert in the criminal file said that this points to "prolonged and intensive" contact.
B. was arrested two years ago, some 20 years after Nicky was found dead in the Brunssummerheide, where he was on summer camp. A DNA kinship investigation led to the authorities identifying B. as a suspect.
'I live for human connection': Australian child sexual abuse survivor
on how she thrives 10 years on
One Survivor's Story
Elizabeth Daoud
7NEWS
An Australian woman who was repeatedly sexually abused by her high school teacher has told of how she relives the harrowing experience in terrifying nightmares 10 years on but doesn’t let the trauma define her.
Grace Tame, was just 15 years old when she was groomed and sexually abused by her 58-year-old maths teacher.
The now 25-year-old Tasmanian was suffering from an eating disorder at the time and undiagnosed high-functioning autism spectrum disorder which made her particularly vulnerable.
“So I was particularly vulnerable, very impressionable,” Tame told 7NEWS.com.au.
“My experiences of anything sexual... that was the first time for me. I lost my virginity to a pedophile.”
Ten years on, despite her resilience and how she’s since thrived, Tame suffers the long-term effects of the trauma through haunting nightmares.
“I can’t either make a sound or my body is paralysed.”
Despite the experience, the 25-year-old doesn’t let it define her. Instead, she is continuously overwhelmed by a sense of positivity and empowerment.
“The beauty in the world far outweighs the negativity,” she said. “That’s what I live for really. I live for love, I live for human connection.
“I was motivated by wanting to help other people in the first place and protect other people.
“When we share our truths, whatever they are, that’s when we connect as human beings... and so there’s so much healing that comes from that.”
‘Lost my way’
For Tame, the process of healing in the last decade has not been easy. “Socially, it was pretty hard in the outset,” she said.
“That ostracisation led me to wanting to move away. I didn’t want to be in my home town. I left and moved to America and I studied there for a couple of years and that was very up and down.”
But after graduating with a few associates degrees and moving away from the structure of school, the 25-year-old says she “lost my way again”.
Tame was named Tasmania's Australian of the year. Credit: Supplied
“As a lot of sexual assault survivors could probably attest to - the escapism... and numbing that’s provided by drugs and alcohol, that was something that I found myself getting into, and other precarious situations.
“Another thing that’s important for people to know about people who’ve been sexually abused, especially if they’ve been sexually abused as a child and have no other frame of reference, it’s very common to fall into the same patterns, subconsciously.
“Not seeking out the same sorts of relationships but unwittingly falling into the same sorts of relationships because they’re familiar even if they’re really painful.
“So, I went from poor relationship to poor relationship... experienced violence and it’s not been an easy road.”
Trauma triggers
Tame added she felt privileged to have always had the unflinching support of her close family and friends, despite her abuser’s attempts to destroy these support networks.
“But it still goes to show that even with all of that support... it still completely messes up a human being’s life because what predators do is they succeed, not only at dissolving your support networks around you, but they dissolve and completely destroy your sense of self,” she said.
“They completely destroy your self-esteem.
“In many ways, I grew up very, very quickly but then in many ways, I still had all these blind spots because I didn’t have a positive frame of reference for healthy, strong, intimate relationships.”
Like other survivors, the harrowing experience remains dormant in Tame’s memory and the trauma is sometimes triggered unexpectedly.
“I now prioritise self-care. I train for marathons and eat really well. I teach and practice yoga. I have really healthy relationships with my friends and family,” she said.
“But I can be actively taking those positive steps every day and then, for instance, go to bed and have a really traumatic nightmare. It doesn’t matter how hard you try, sometimes there are triggers and things that you just can’t prevent that are the product of trauma.”
Changing cultures
Not long after her ordeal as a teenager, Tame reported the matter to police and eventually, it became local news.
But what shocked the 25-year-old Tasmanian was how the story was framed. “The first headline, I think was ‘teacher admits to affair with student’,” she said.
“It is not an affair when a 58-year-old man is sexually abusing a child. It is not a relationship or a tryst.
Tame was the driving force behind the #LetHerSpeak campaign. Credit: Supplied/ AAP
“To have that truth be made into this sensationalised news piece, that was beyond unexpected.
“It was unbelievable. It was unfathomable.
“But I don’t see that as being anybody’s fault. I just see that as being a product of poor social conditioning and victim-blaming cultures that are fed by perpetrators.”
And it’s these cultures and attitudes that Tame is fighting to change.
#LetHerSpeak
Before the 25-year-old was able to go public with her story as an adult, she discovered a gag law in Tasmania that prevented victims and survivors of sexual abuse from speaking about their experiences.
Her fight to be able to speak out was the driving force of an international campaign to change the law: #LetHerSpeak, which she formed with journalist Nina Funnell, End Rape on Campus Australia and Marque Lawyers.
After a long and costly process, Tame was given a special exemption by the Supreme Court of Tasmania to speak out.
She’s now become an advocate for survivors and victims of sexual abuse, and wants to educate others about the details of child grooming.
She also wants the community to see survivors and victims as everyday people rather than as “damaged goods”.
“Many people have had traumatic experiences,” she said.
The 26-year-old now advocates for victims and survivors of sexual abuse. Credit: Supplied
“One of the cultures that I want to dismantle is the victim-blaming culture and also the stereotyping of victims by some as being weak and unable to properly function in society.
“Yes, we need to help victims recover from trauma but you can heal and grow through positive, strong relationships and you can thrive.
“It’s not their shame. The only thing that’s shameful is the crimes themselves and the people that commit those crimes.”
Tame, who is now in a healthy and committed relationship, was recently named Tasmanian Australian of the Year.
She also encourages other survivors to speak out if that is their choice to do so. “It’s important for survivors to speak out because it’s only in lived experience that we can get the unique knowledge to inform positive change,” she said.
“It’s education and education is the foundation of progress. History is our most valuable learning resource.
“Survivors need to know that they are heard and that their stories are important and that they matter in the community. Survivors can not only heal but they can thrive and flourish.”
Grimsby, UK man charged with multiple child sex offences
A Grimsby man has appeared before a judge and been charged with more than 20 child sex offences dating back almost 30 years.
Tetney resident, Andrew Mark Ditchfield, aged 53, appeared at Southern Derbyshire Magistrates’ Court on Thursday after being arrested by Derbyshire Police on Tuesday morning on suspicion of multiple offences.
Mr Ditchfield is due to appear at Derby Crown Court on 17 December.
On Wednesday 18th November, he was charged with the following 21 offences against 11 victims:
12 counts of indecent assault on boys under the age of 14 – between 1992 and 2004 in Derbyshire.
Two counts of attempted rape – between 1994 and 2003 in Derbyshire.
Three counts of rape – between 1999 and 2011. Two counts in Derbyshire and one in Lincolnshire.
Two counts of indecent assault on girls under the age of 14 – between 1993 and 2001 in Derbyshire.
Two counts of causing a boy over the age of 13 to engage in non-penetrative sexual activity – between 2004 and 2011. One count in Derbyshire and one count in Lincolnshire.
Police said the 21 offences, relating to 11 alleged victims, were reported to have been committed between 1992 and 2011 in Derbyshire and Lincolnshire.
Detective Inspector Tony Owen said:
“As a force, we take reports of non-recent sexual abuse very seriously. We work closely with partners to ensure that survivors are given support, whether or not they wish to make a formal criminal complaint, and I would urge anyone who may have been subject to abuse to come forward”.
Anyone with information that may be of help to detectives investigating the alleged offences by Andrew Ditchfield can contact Derbyshire police in confidence using non emergency line 101, or through the website by completing the online contact form derbyshire.police.uk/Contact-Us including reference 17*279894 in any correspondence.
Surgeon Sexually Assaults Single Mum. Now She Alleges PDRM
Is Harassing Her Because Of It
She claims that she was detained and locked up for two days following a false report lodged against her by the surgeon. While she was in detention, her two children were left to fend for themselves.
By Sadho Ram, SAYS
21 Nov 2020, 11:51 AM
A disturbing account of a single mother who alleges sexual assault at the hands of a surgeon has surfaced after she lodged a report at a police station in Penang earlier this month, according to a report.
The single mother, who works at a multinational company in George Town, lodged the complaint at the Sungai Nibong police station on 5 November alleging that her life had been "turned into a nightmare", reported Audrey Dermawan of New Straits Times on Friday, 20 November.
According to the woman, a surgeon forced her to perform oral sex on him on 26 July this year.
He subsequently tried to contact her several times after that, but she ignored him, an action that allegedly infuriated the surgeon and he lodged a false report that she had threatened him.
It's not reported if the woman had lodged a report against the surgeon after the sexual assault.
On 10 October, when the victim turned up with her two children at the Northeast district police station, the investigating officer (IO), who is a female sergeant, did not give her any chance to explain herself.
"The female officer just seized my handphone without any explanation. I was kept locked up for two days," the woman claimed in her report detailing what had happened to her.
A file photo of the Sungai Nibong police station.
The victim claims that she was detained and locked up for two days following a false report lodged against her by the surgeon. While she was in detention, her two children were left to fend for themselves.
According to the woman, her ordeal didn't end there.
"After I was released, I received threats through phone calls from someone claiming to be a police officer," the New Straits Times' report stated the single mother as claiming.
I also received calls from another person who told me I should meet with the surgeon to resolve the matter.
The victim
She claimes that despite having submitted call details, the female sergeant told her that whatever happened should be a lesson for her.
She said instead of acting on her report, the IO instead lectured her about it being a lesson. "The IO even chided me that she could do whatever she wanted with me and no one would do anything about it. My identity card was also not returned to me after I was released," she alleged.
She said that she now fears for her family and also her safety
The woman, who works as an administrative officer at the multinational company, said she is now under trauma besides suffering from mental and psychological stress.
According to the New Straits Times' report yesterday, Northeast district police chief ACP Soffian Santong said that an investigation into the case is ongoing and that they will also "investigate the woman's claims that the police are being used to threaten and silence her".
Ax-wielding drunken man surrenders after taking six children hostage and threatening to kill them in St. Petersburg
24 Nov, 2020 12:50
An ax-wielding man took six children hostage in Russia’s second-largest city, St. Petersburg, threatening to kill them. The suspect has reportedly surrendered after a standoff with police.
The hostage situation unfolded in St. Petersburg’s southern suburb of Kolpino on Tuesday afternoon. The incident was confirmed by local law enforcement.
The local man barricaded himself within an apartment, taking six kids, aged between three and 15 years, hostage. According to Russian media, the suspect is the father of at least three of the imprisoned children.
The hostage-taker, said to be heavily drunk, is reportedly armed with an axe and a knife. While he has already threatened to kill the children, he has not made any demands. Police psychologists and negotiators have been dispatched to the scene.
Some three hours after taking the children hostage, the suspect surrendered to law enforcement, RIA Novosti reported, citing sources.
It was not immediately clear what prompted such extreme behavior, though the media sources suggested the standoff had been triggered by an argument between the suspect and his wife, whom he’d ejected from the apartment before locking himself in.
The man had reportedly experienced mental health issues in the past, although he did not have any run-ins with the law before Tuesday’s incident.
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