Man jailed for grooming two girls on Marktplaats; Offered horse for nudes

The Oost-Brabant court sentenced a 33-year-old man from Den Bosch to ten months in prison for grooming two girls, aged 13 and 14. He approached them on Marktplaats and offered them a free horse if they sent him nudes.

The two girls had placed advertisements on Marktplaats separate from each other, saying they were looking for a horse to take care of. The 33-year-old man responded to those ads in October last year. He said he had a horse that they could have for free if they sent him nude photos and videos of themselves. He actually made an appointment with one girl, suggesting they meet at a remote location so he could take photos of her.

In both cases, the girls’ parents intervened before the children sent nudes to the man. According to the ruling, the father of one girl took over the conversation with the man using an old SIM card. “The guy started texting me, and during that week, he wanted to see nude photos,” the father said. “I had to walk around naked like a dog and such.” The father went to a community police officer in Den Bosch, and the police arrested the man.

The man told the court that his behavior was due to excessive alcohol consumption and that he had no sexual interest in minors. The court did not believe this, given that he had been convicted of a similar sexual offense a year ago and was still on probation.

The court sentenced him to 18 months in prison, 8 months of which are conditionally suspended. He must also serve the remaining 16 weeks of the sentence he received last year and must undergo treatment for his alcohol addiction and sexually transgressive behavior. The authorities will monitor his social media behavior until his probation is done.