Actor Thijs Römer accused of online sex offenses with three underage girls
The Public Prosecution Service (OM) will prosecute actor Thijs Römer for three sex offenses involving three underage girls who were between the ages of 14 and 16 at the time of the alleged crimes. The Northern Netherlands district office of the OM confirmed the case to ANP after the allegations were first reported by RTL Boulevard.
The offenses date from 2015 to the end of 2017. The OM said that the accusations do not regard physical contact between Römer and the victims. Earlier this year, a 20-year-old woman also used Twitter to accuse Römer of sexual misconduct in an incident she said occurred when she was 14.
Römer denied those allegations at the time. "Until now, I have not felt compelled to respond to this," the actor wrote on Twitter in May. "The story about a 14-year-old girl with whom I would have had inappropriate contact, however, goes a bridge too far for me as a father of a teenage daughter and a sane person." The woman later said she regretted sharing her accusations on Twitter, but did not retract them.
In September, Römer announced that he had cleared his agenda "for the foreseeable future.” The actor said the reason was that he had worked too much in the past year and therefore wanted a break.
Maartje Schaap, who represents two of the women who accused Römer, said on Thursday that the women are pleased there is now a case progressing against the actor. The two women have been "anxiously looking forward to this day, when more could be announced," said Schaap.
The case will not be heard in 2022, but will be dealt with next year, according to the OM.
Reporting by ANP