Father could get 6 years for assaulting daughter's harasser
Helmond father Mario H. could face six years in prison for assaulting Jack S. in Eindhoven on January 19th. The Public Prosecutor demanded the sentence against him in the court in Den Bosch on Thursday. S. harassed H.'s 14-year-old daughter online, AD reports.
The police were looking for S. at the time of the attack. According to H., he did everything he could to put the police on the right track, but they did not respond. The police did warn him not to intervene by himself, but he did. H. attacked S. with a snow shovel, injuring him severely - cuts to his leg and head and two broken arms.
The Prosecutor believes this was attempted murder. "He responded out of proportion with life-threatening violence. A serious form of self-justice", the Prosecutor said. The Prosecutor is surprised that H. went through with the attack, despite the police telling him several times not to take the law into his own hands.
H. told the court that he regrets attacking S., but not tracking him down. According to his lawyer, H. should be charged with assault, not attempted murder. He wants a reduced sentence.
Jack S. approached H.'s daughter on the internet by pretending to be a 17-year-old boy named Jessie. H. became suspicious when his daughter received flowers that looked to be way too expensive for a teenager. Through the store where the flowers were purchased, H. quickly found out that "Jessie" is not a teenaged boy, but a middle aged man.
The court will rule on May 4th.
