Noordwijk man gets 3 years in prison for online sex abuse of 18 children

The court in The Hague sentenced a 37-year-old man from Noordwijk to four years in prison, of which one year is conditionally suspended, for the online sexual abuse of 18 children. The Public Prosecution Service (OM) had demanded six years in prison and compulsory institutionalized treatment (TBS) against the man.

Girls aged 12 to 15 sent Michel L. explicit nude photos and videos because they thought they were entering a competition. They thought they could win branded shoes, among other things.

In several cases, the man threatened to put their intimate images online if they stopped sending new ones. This practice is known as sextortion. The judge called it a big social problem. “There are people who target children with very wrong intentions.

The man worked using different methods and he did so in a very calculating and organized manner for five years, the court ruled. Sometimes, he pretended to be a 15-year-old boy showing his torso. "As soon as girls sent nude images, they were immediately trapped and had to send more and more," the court said.

L. was accused of conning three of the 18 identified girls into masturbating in front of their own cameras. He convinced others that someone could help them remove nude photos from the internet, but they had to send even more nude images in exchange for this “service.”

Some 352 explicit and abusive photos and 75 videos were found in his possession, including images of girls the police were unable to identify. The court did not impose an order of mandatory psychiatric treatment in a TBS facility, because a psychological evaluation did not lead to the diagnosis of a disorder.

If necessary, the man will be placed under supervision after his prison sentence. This is possible as part of the court’s order to place measures on him related to influencing his behavior and further restricting his freedom.