Escaped psych prisoner making demands for return to clinic: report

Ronald van Z., a psychiatric prisoner who escaped from a clinic in Nijmegen on Friday, is setting demands for his return. He will only turn himself in if two employees of the Pompekliniek resign, he said in an email exchange with Omroep Gelderland. The clinic told the broadcaster that they will not negotiate with this man.

Van Z. was convicted of child sex abuse in 2014 and sentenced to institutionalized psychiatric treatment. He escaped while on a supervised bike ride in Nijmegen on Friday. The police are looking for him.

Omroep Gelderland writes that it received emails from the convict on Monday and Tuesday, describing abuses at the Pompekliniek. According to him, the clinic is understaffed and workers are too busy to offer good guidance. This resulted in leave being canceled too often, him receiving little to no therapy, and all kinds of contraband - from drugs to child pornography - being smuggled into the clinic, Van Z. wrote to the broadcaster.

He escaped because of these abuses and will not come out of hiding until the clinic is placed under supervision and the patient care director and the treatment coordinator resign, he wrote. Once this happens, he will turn himself in, he said.

The Pompekliniek will not respond to these demands, a spokesperson said to Omroep Gelderland. "This escaped patient is in no position to make any demands and will be tracked down no matter what."