Artist Julian Andeweg convicted of rape, sexual assault; Given 20-month prison term

Julian Andeweg was convicted on charges of rape, sexual assault and assault by the District Court of Amsterdam on Monday. The 36-year-old artist from The Hague was on trial for seven charges in total, and he was acquitted of several for a lack of evidence. He was sentenced to 20 months in prison, including eight months which were conditionally suspended.

The Public Prosecution Service (OM) had demanded three years in prison against the man, including one year suspended. In substantiating that claim, the prosecution characterized the case as "MeToo in the art world."

He was convicted of "unexpectedly grabbing" the crotch of one victim and "touching her vagina" in February 2018, raping another victim in January 2015 "by unexpectedly inserting his finger into her vagina," and repeatedly assaulting a third victim "by pinching, shaking, hitting and kicking her, in the period from 1 January 2014 to 31 December 2016." The latter victim was his girlfriend at the time.

The artist was acquitted on accusations that he sexually assaulted a fourth victim in April 2018 "by inserting his penis or an object into her vagina" while she was "in a state of reduced consciousness." He was also acquitted on allegations that he raped a fifth victim in July 2013 and that he then threw her on the ground and molested her six months later. He was also accused, and acquitted, of raping a sixth victim in July 2014 by repeatedly penetrating her vagina with his finger.

During the trial, Andeweg's attorney had characterized the case as a "smear campaign" rooted in "resentment and envy." The attorney had recommended that the court acquit the artist, who denied most of the allegations made against him. He also said he could not remember many of the events well. The alleged incidents took place between 2013 and 2018, a time when Andeweg said he had been using alcohol and drugs frequently.

However, the court judged some of his statements as "implausible." For example, the court found it unlikely that he does not remember in detail the period ranging from the start of 2014 to the end of 2016 related to the allegations of repeated acts of violence targeting his girlfriend during their relationship. The court said that Andeweg must recall this. Specifically, the court pointed to the evidence of assault by grabbing and shaking her, or "hitting and kicking" her arms and legs.

The image that emerged about Andeweg during the trial is that of "a dominant man who, under the influence of alcohol and drugs, was primarily concerned with what he himself had wanted," the court said in its ruling. He has stated that he had numerous sexual contacts at the time, used cocaine and indulged in "riotous behaviour."

For the charges in which he was acquitted, including rape and sexual assault, the court said there was not enough evidence to support the victims' statements. In the verdict, the court considered in detail that it can often be difficult to prove sexual crimes in cases where it often boils down to the word of the victim against that of the alleged perpetrator. There are seldom if ever direct witnesses.

The court opted to proceed cautiously because "the passage of time usually influences the quality of memories." While the court said it did not believe any of the victims "deliberately changed" their story to portray the defendant in a negative light, it said a risk of "collaborative storytelling" remained because of media attention related to the allegations.

When determining the length of the sentence imposed on Andeweg, the court took into account the diagnosis of a personality disorder and considered the degree of his responsibility in the case to be diminished. The length of time it took for victims to come forward and for the case to be tried also weighed in the suspect's favor. Ample attention in the media has led to the end of Andeweg's career as an artist. That publicity started with a large article in NRC Handelsblad in 2020. He has now undergone treatment, and no longer uses alcohol and drugs.

Both Andeweg and the OM can appeal the court's ruling. They have 14 days to decide on appeal from the date they were notified of the decision.