23 more child victims linked to Brabant sex offender

The 48-year old Frank R. from Cuijk in Brabant is being prosecuted for 23 counts of sexual offense against girls between 10 and 17 years of age, five of whom are Belgian. This announcement comes from the public prosecutor Tuesday morning during a pre-trial review in Assen. R. was apprehended in Groningen on the 19th of May last year. Between 2005 and 2013, he is suspected of having seduced several hundreds of girls to perform sexual acts in front of a webcam. The Public Prosecution Service (OM) is also accusing him of at least one rape, sexual abuse of ten victims, and making child porn, according to press office Novum. At the end of January, R. made a confession, and he has been in custody since October. The police has seized more than 26 thousand films and 144 thousand images of girls. A large number of chat conversations were also found. R. concealed this material in a hidden compartment in a hallway closet and in his car. The court will view some of the images found on Frank R.'s computer on 22 April behind closed doors. The public prosecutor said this would not be pleasant, but that "it will be useful." Right after, a fifth public pre-trial review will take place. The substantive treatment of the extensive sexual abuse case is planned to take place on 21, 22, 23, and 28 May. R.'s lawyer, Tjalling van der Groot took over from Robert van Haarst last week. Van der Groot says he hasn't delved deeply enough into the case to be able to grant research wishes. He is bound to the lawyer's office of the brothers Anker in Leeuwarden. Together with Wim Anker, he defended Robert M., the lead suspect in a sexual abuse case in Amsterdam. According to R.'s last lawyer, the "the boundary-crossing sexual behavior" of his client comes from excessive internet use, adding that it can be proven by psychiatric research. This could mean that R. wasn't born with pedophiliac tendencies. The lawyer adds that TBS (psychiatric hospital prison) with coerced treatment has been excluded by the results of the psychiatric tests. The OM does think that Frank R. is a pedophile, however, and wants to get him tested by a psychiatrist as well as a psychologist again.