Prosecutor demands 16 years for Utrecht serial rape suspect

The Public Prosecutor demanded a 16 year prison sentence for Gerard T., believed to be the Utrecht serial rapist, in the court in Utrecht on Tuesday. T. is charged with raping four young women in 1995 and 2001. Eighteen other cases are linked to him, but there is not enough evidence to prosecute, NU reports. The Public Prosecutor demanded the highest possible sentence, due to the high level of violence used and because the prosecutor believes there is a considerable risk of recurrence. The Prosecutor also wanted to demand compulsory treatment, but could not do so because no psychiatric disorder could be determined in the suspect. This is because T. refused to cooperate with the psychiatric examination. T. came to the police's attention for the first time in 1995 after two people recognized him from the composite sketch in the rape cases. He was questioned and released. In 2002 the police asked him to give a DNA sample in connection with this case, but he refused. In 2014 he was arrested and convicted of bicycle theft and was forced to give DNA. His DNA matched three of the four rapes he is being prosecuted four. He was arrested in July 2014 and remains in custody.