Prosecutors drop sex assault charge against The Voice bandleader

Prosecutors have dropped their case against Jeroen Rietbergen, which stemmed from allegations of sex crimes from his time as the bandleader of The Voice of Holland. The 53-year-old Huizen man was dismissed due to a lack of evidence, even though the Public Prosecution Service (OM) said a year ago that the office intended to prosecute the man.

Rietbergen, who was the composer and bandleader for the reality show, was suspected a sexual offense dating back to February 2018. That incident was alleged to have taken place either in The Voice's studios, or around that area.

A litany of allegations about inappropriate behavior behind the scenes of the television show surfaced in early 2022 when the online program BOOS published extensive details about sexually transgressive behavior at The Voice and the children's version of the program, The Voice Kids.

Before the BOOS episode was published, Rietbergen admitted that he acted inappropriately by having relationships of a "sexual nature" with women involved in the show. RTL pulled the plug on The Voice of Holland when BOOS alleged that former contestants were harassed by The Voice employees, and were subjected to abuses of power. Several victims brought their stories to police.

However, the OM found no evidence of coercion, and said it could not be proven that "the suspect used actual dominance or a position of power" to fit the legal definition at the time. "After studying the results of the additional investigation by the examining magistrate, the Public Prosecution Service sees no legal and convincing evidence for a criminal offense. The Public Prosecution Service explained this decision in a conversation with the complainant and the former suspect," the OM said.

"For example, new witnesses were heard and the suspect made a substantive statement to the examining magistrate for the first time. The results of the additional research have been carefully considered in conjunction with the research already conducted. The conclusion is that the Public Prosecution Service no longer sees any reason to take the case to court."