Young man arrested in Dutch village for raping, sexually assaulting pre-teen girls

A 19-year-old man from Bavel has been in custody for three and a half months on suspicion of raping a 12-year-old girl and sexually assaulting a 13-year-old girl. He also had nude photos of dozens of other young girls in his possession, which the authorities believe he convinced them to send him through online chats. The youngest victim is 8-years-old, BN DeStem reports.

The police found a large amount of child pornography in the man's home. A total of 900 pictures and 170 videos were discovered. The footage involves between 40 and 45 girls, the Public Prosecutor revealed during a pro-forma hearing on Tuesday. The authorities believe that at least some of these girls are in his contact list. The police are currently working on identifying the girls in the footage, and checking the age of 300 of the man's chat contacts.

The young man contacted the girls via Snapchat and other chat services. He asked them for nude pictures. If they later refused to perform sexual acts with him, he threatened to put the pictures online.

The suspect was remanded back into custody on Tuesday. According to the court, it could shock society if he was released.