Convicted rapist and controversial addiction aid worker Keith Bakker dies at age 64
Former aid worker and media personality Keith Bakker has died of heart failure at the age of 64, people in his circles confirmed to various Dutch media. The American-Dutchman became known as an expert by experience in addiction care and was later convicted of raping clients at his rehab clinic, as well as for raping a minor girl.
Bakker gained his experience with addiction through having an alcoholic father and being addicted to drugs for a long time, NOS reported. He started a rehab clinic in Amsterdam and Wassenaar in 2004 after swearing off drugs. His fame grew, and he appeared in various television programs as an addiction expert. For example, he was on the NCRV program Family Matters, in which he guided families with addicted children, for two seasons.
The American-Dutchman closed his rehab clinic in 2010 due to a conflict with a landlord, and the clinic was declared bankrupt a year later. Around the same time, clients from his addiction clinic accused Bakker of sexual abuse in RTL Boulevard and the Telegraaf. A former colleague supported those accusations in the Volkskrant.
In 2012, the cout sentenced Bakker to five years in prison and institutionalized treatment for raping three clients. He was also banned from working in the addiction care sector for ten years. After his release, he set up several foundations that focus on mental healthcare for men who are or were in prison.
In 2019, he was again accused of rape, this time of a minor. Bakker claimed that the girl was of legal age when he had a sexual relationship with her, but the court did not believe that. He was sentenced to 4.5 years in prison, which got shortened to 1.5 years on appeal in 2022.
