Four convicted in gang rape of homeless woman to spend up to 15 mos. in youth detention
Four men were convicted in the cruel gang rape of a homeless woman in Helmond about a year ago. The District Court in Den Bosch sentenced three of them to 15 months in a youth detention center, and the other to 12 months, but they each can get three months of their sentence suspended if certain conditions are met. A fifth suspect was found guilty of sexual assault and sentenced to four months in juvenile detention.
The 33-year-old woman was alone on a park bench on December 16, 2023 in the Burgemeester Geukerspark in Helmond. The court surmised the allegations, saying that two of the co-defendants walked up to the woman, bound her, grabbed her under the arms, and dragged her to a grassy area. "She was then pushed to the ground and beaten, her mouth was pressed shut so that she could not scream for help and then she was brutally raped multiple times and in multiple rounds by the [suspects], both vaginally and anally."
The woman’s mobile phone was also stolen, authorities said. "Police officers found her in the park with a swollen nose and jaw and her pants around her knees," the court wrote.
The trial was held behind closed doors because the suspects were minors at the time of the rape. The trial was held behind closed doors because they were minors at the time of the rape. The suspects are currently 17 and 18 years old. They are from the municipalities of Tilburg and Waalwijk.
In this case, the four suspects convicted of gang rape were all “unaccompanied, minor foreigners,” the court noted, saying, “they still need a great deal of help and guidance in functioning in Dutch society.” They were also ordered to pay nearly 15,500 euros in compensation to the victim.
The Public Prosecution Service had recommended two years in youth detention against four of the five suspects, with several months suspended on condition. Under juvenile criminal law, the judges presiding over the case could impose a maximum of two years in a juvenile correctional facility for the convicted suspects. They could have added an order to spend a maximum of seven years in a psychiatric facility.
Had the court chosen to punish the suspects as adults, they could have received up to 12 years in prison for rape. Prosecutors are advised to consider a recommended sentence of three years as a starting point, and to weigh the number of suspects, the extended period of time of the abuse, and the victim’s vulnerable position as aggravating factors.
Judges in the Netherlands do have the authority to try suspects as adults even if they were 16 or 17 years old at the time of a criminal act. Further, the court can weigh an individual’s development level to decide whether to try an adult up to the age of 23 as a juvenile.
In juvenile criminal cases in the Netherlands, both the prosecution and defendant is given the opportunity to file an appeal against the verdict and sentence. Such an appeal must be filed within 14 days of the verdict being issued by the court.
