Thijs Römer gets month in prison, community service for sexual misconduct with girls

The court in Assen sentenced Actor Thijs Römer to three months in prison, two months of which were suspended, for online sex offenses involving three underage girls. The court also imposed a maximum community service sentence of 240 hours on him.

He must also undergo treatment at a mental health institution. Römer was not present at the verdict, nor was his lawyer. One of the three victims was present in court.

The court considers it proven that the actor is guilty of criminally transgressive sexual behavior. He seduced the girls online to commit lewd acts on themselves and send him nude photos.

That happened between November 2015 and November 2017, when the girls were 14, 15, and 16 years old. “The suspect continuously abused the fact that the victims looked up to him or were even in love with him,” the court said. “They did not dare say no, because they were afraid of losing contact with the suspect. The court strongly blames the suspect for crossing the boundaries of these underage victims with his unseemly behavior.”

Römer also sent photos of his genitals to his victims during the explicit and sexually tinted conversations he had with his young fans, including via WhatsApp. “The court cannot determine whether the dick pics were unsolicited,” said the judge. Therefore, the court acquitted the actor of coercion. The court did call sending dick pics “contrary to the social ethical norm.”

“He was 37 years old. He admitted that there was considerable preponderance on his part,” the court said. Römer always followed the same tactic with the three victims. He first built a relationship of trust with the girls. Following the same pattern, those personal conversations later turned into sexually charged conversations, during which photos and videos were exchanged.

The court also stated: “The suspect mainly blames himself outside of himself, for example, through his Amsterdam upbringing and the free sexual morality in his field of work.” The court said it considered the significant media attention and the disastrous consequences for Römer’s acting career in its sentencing.