Abused women confront convicted Dutch pedophile in Kenya
Two Dutch women confronted convicted pedophile Hans V. from Tilburg in Kenya a few weeks ago. Crime reporter John van den Heuvel visited H. in Kenya for his latest documentary, and the two women, who were abused by V. when they were children, asked to go with him. "The lives of these women have been destroyed", Van den Heuvel said when the footage of the confrontation was shown on PAUW on Thursday, AD reports.
Hans V., a 69-year-old man who was born and raised in Tilburg, has been living in Kenya for years. He is currently awaiting trial for sexually abusing at least three underage girls in the African country. According to the judiciary, V. gave the girls 100 Kenyan shillings - around 86 euro cents, about enough to buy a muffin - after each abuse and threatened to kill them if they went to the police. V. has a history of sex crimes, in both Kenya and the Netherlands, according to the newspaper.
The footage broadcast on PAUW on Thursday show Van den Heuvel bump into V. in Kenya, where he is awaiting his trial in freedom. The crime reporter got angry when it became clear that V. did not want to talk to him. "You stay there! Off that phone! You are now going to listen to what I have to say!" Van den Heuvel said to him.
The two women joined them a short time later. "Do you still remember us? No, of course not, after what you did to us! You have destroyed our lives", one of the women said, crying. "When I was 13, you came to our apartment in Amsterdam to pick me up. I will never forget that day. You destroyed my life and that of my cousins."
On PAUW Van den Heuvel called it a "massively intense" confrontation. "I spent the whole week with those two women. They were so eager to look Hans in the eye and tell what he did to them. They were very relieved afterwards." V. initially did not recognize them, but later apologized to the women.
According to Van den Heuvel, V. still runs an orphanage in Kenya. The journalist visited the orphanage with his camera crew. "I will never forget the fear in the eyes of those children. What happens there is too disgusting for words. I went home very upset after this trip." The children have now been housed in another orphanage. "Now we can only hope that this man will not escape the dance in Kenya."
Hans V. was arrested in Kenya late last year. He denies the accusations against him. The sexual abuse of children under the age of 12 carries a maximum sentence of life in prison in Kenya.
