Suspect who plotted neighbor's rape by tricking sex app users could face 4 years in jail

The Public Prosecution Office (OM) has requested a four-year prison sentence, with one year suspended, for a 58-year-old man from Schagen who allegedly orchestrated a violent attack on his neighbor by impersonating her on a sex chat website. The suspect, Geoffrey S., admitted to using his neighbor’s identity online to lure a man into her home under the false belief that she wanted to fulfill her own sexual fantasies of being raped. He confessed that, as a result of his actions, his neighbor was violently attacked in her own home by a man who wanted to rape her.

“A case unlike anything we’ve seen before,” the prosecutor told the court in Alkmaar. “Unusual and atypical.”

On February 15 last year, Sebastiaan A., a 46-year-old man from Heiloo, arrived at the woman’s home, rang her doorbell, forced his way inside, and attempted to sexually assault her. He was under the impression that the woman was expecting him. She was home alone at the time, with her husband at work and the children at school.

A violent struggle ensued, during which the woman was beaten and injured. The man said he was going to rape her. "The fear I felt in that moment is indescribable," the woman said in her statement to the court.

A. eventually abandoned his attack and fled the scene. The woman was left distraught. The woman sought help from neighbors down the street. Five weeks later, it became clear that her neighbour, with whom she had a friendly and trusting relationship, was the mastermind behind what had happened to her and had given her attacker explicit instructions. "He was on the other side of the wall," the woman said.

A day after the violence, S. sent her a concerned text message, with his best wishes and an offer of support. Authorities arrested A. nearly two weeks later and detained S. on March 8 after a digital forensic investigation linked him to the crime.

Prosecutors revealed that in January, another man, also deceived by S., had attempted a similar attack at the victim’s home but left after growing suspicious. S. is also accused of using the identities of other women, including his own wife and the daughters of friends, to engage in explicit online conversations with dozens of men. His wife has since left him.

The Public Prosecution Service demanded a community service order of 150 hours against A., in addition to a prison sentence of 191 days, of which 180 days may be conditionally suspended. He could then be released for time served.

The prosecutors conceded that A. was misled by S., but said he should have been more careful when investigating the situation.

The court will render its verdict on February 18.