Barendrecht man "deeply regrets" sexually abusing around 30 children
The 45-year-old man from Barendrecht suspected of sexually abusing dozens of children “deeply regrets” what he’s done, he said at the first hearing in the case against him on Friday. The authorities are still investigating and more victims may be identified, but the number is now around 30, the Public Prosecution Service (OM) said in the Rotterdam court, RTL Nieuws reports.
The suspect, a divorced father of two children, knew his victims through family, associations, and acquaintances. He allegedly abused them while they were visiting with his own children, either at his home in Barendrecht or at a campsite in Noord-Brabant that the family frequented. The victims are primary school age.
At the start of the hearing, the judge briefly acknowledged that some of the victims’ parents were in the courtroom. “This case, as it now appears, has many young victims, who sometimes do not even know that they are involved in a crime. It is a dilemma. Do I tell my child? Some parents have done so, others who have not.”
The man himself spoke at the end of the hearing. “I have hidden the worst part of me for years. I deeply regret what I have done. I cooperate with everything, I hope that is the best I can do for the victims and their loved ones.”
The case came to light in September when two girls having a sleepover with the man’s children woke up unexpectedly while he was sexually abusing them. The girls told their parents, who went to the police. The Barendrecht man turned himself in a short time later and, to the police’s surprise, immediately started confessing one crime after another.
The man confessed to sexually abusing 19 children. But further investigation revealed more victims. The investigation is still ongoing.
The man will be admitted to the Pieter Baan Center for psychological and psychiatric evaluation as soon as possible. He will remain in custody. The next hearing is scheduled for March 3.
