Rotterdam court sentences man to 22 months after series of sexual assaults on 11 women

The Rotterdam District Court has sentenced 32-year-old Nabil I. to 22 months in prison for assaulting 11 women between May 2024 and early 2025. The court also imposed a two-year ban preventing him from entering Rotterdam.

The Public Prosecution Service had recommended a 2.5-year prison sentence for the suspect over 13 alleged sexual assaults in Rotterdam. The court acquitted him in two of the cases, citing insufficient evidence.

The court largely accepted the prosecution’s view that the suspect followed a repeated pattern. He travelled by bicycle in Rotterdam-Noord and the city centre and targeted women from behind in public spaces.

The suspect was recognised in CCTV footage by the manager of the company where he had been working under a false identity, and also by one of the complainants. According to the judge during sentencing, the victims consistently described the suspect in a similar way.

The court said that multiple victims later recognised the suspect. Telephone records also placed him near the locations of many of the incidents. Both his employer and a friend identified him in CCTV images. In several cases, I. reportedly apologised before leaving the scene.

I., who was absent during the court ruling, has no legal residence status in the Netherlands. He has been in custody for about a year at the detention facility in Ter Apel. He was arrested in Spain following the issuance of an international arrest warrant.