Image

Friday, 12 February 2016 - 12:17
Utrecht serial rapist sentenced to 16 years in prison
Update, 16:50, 12 February 2016: A previous version of this article indicated T. was convicted of murder. T. was not suspected in any murder cases, and was not brought to trial on such charges.
Gerard T., known as the Utrecht serial rapist, was sentenced to 16 years i prison by the court in Utrecht on Friday. The court found him guilty of criminal counts related to four different rapes. T. also has to pay 35 thousand euros in damages to one of the victims, NU reports.
The sentence is equal to what the Public Prosecutor demanded.
The Utrecht serial rapist was active in the city from 1995. He was arrested in 2014 when he had to give a DNA sample after being sentenced for bicycle theft. His DNA matched samples found on four rape victims, two 16 year old girls, a 27 year old and a 28 year old raped in 1995 and 2001, the four rapes he was convicted of on Friday. In 18 other cases there was not enough evidence to prosecute him.
The court considers it proven that T. was responsible for all four rapes. According to the judge, T. used a shocking amount of brutality during the rapes and showed no compassion for his victims. His actions caused great unrest in the Utrecht region.