Hologram of rape suspect leads to 300 tips; 40 men approached for DNA

A hologram made of a man who raped two girls in the area of Schiedam and Vlaardingen in 2010 resulted in 300 tips, and those tips helped the police narrow their search for the perpetrator to 40 men. The police are approaching them for DNA samples.

The perpetrator attacked three girls, one aged 13 and two 15-year-olds, in 2010. He raped two of them under threat of a knife. The third girl managed to escape.

In December, the police presented a hologram made of the perpetrator based on composite drawings from 2010. The life-sized hologram was placed in shopping centers in Schiedam and Vlaardingen and shown on investigation programs Bureau Rijnmond and Opsporing Verzocht.

The police received over 300 tips about the suspect’s possible identity. Over the past months, the police investigated all of the tips and have now narrowed their search to 40 men. The Rotterdam police started approaching the men for a DNA test on Monday. The test is voluntary. “The DNA experts from the Netherlands Forensic Institute will compare the DNA one-on-one with the DNA that the perpetrator left behind in 2010,” the police said.

Rene Bergwerff, the leader of the cold case team, can imagine that the men will be shaken by the police approaching them, given the severity of the case. He urged them to volunteer for the DNA test.

“Participating in the DNA test is for a good cause: finding the man responsible for the serious sex crime. The persons can, of course, not all be the perpetrators. The DNA is a very practical selection tool.”