Court extends psychiatric detention for man convicted of abusing dozens of children

A court ordered that Robert M., convicted in one of the largest sexual abuse cases in the Netherlands, will remain in a psychiatric institution for at least another two years, NOS reports.

Robert M., sentenced in 2013 to nearly 19 years in prison and compulsory psychiatric treatment, was found to have sexually abused 67 young children while working at daycare centers and as a babysitter in Amsterdam. He recorded the abuse and distributed the material to others involved in similar offenses. One of the locations where the abuse occurred was the Het Hofnarretje daycare.

After serving two-thirds of his prison term, M. was transferred to a tbs clinic in 2023. Under Dutch law, the court must re-evaluate every two years whether psychiatric detention should be continued. The decision is based on expert assessments of the suspect’s mental condition, the risk of reoffending, and whether reintegration into society is possible.

The treatment team advised prolonging the tbs measure. During the hearing, an expert told the court that M. suffers from a pedophilic disorder, a personality disorder with narcissistic and antisocial traits, and shows signs of autism. According to the expert, the risk of reoffending if he were released remains high.

For the victims and their parents, the hearing marked the first time the court considered extending M.’s detention since his conviction. Richard Korver, an attorney who has represented the parents of dozens of victims over the years, said before the session that it was a tense and emotionally charged day. “It remains a decision by the court, and that decision will come back every two years,” Korver told NOS.

Some victims and parents were present at the Amsterdam courthouse and followed proceedings from a separate room via video link. Others chose not to attend.

Korver described the current situation of the victims as varied. “There are children who are doing well, but there are also children who are not doing well. It’s a very mixed picture,” he told NOS. Not all of the victims know they were abused by M. “Some parents chose not to share that with their child,” Korver added.

Under Dutch procedure, victims and their families have no right to address the court during hearings on tbs extensions unless the convicted person is permitted to leave the institution or the treatment is partly lifted. The presiding judge explained at the start of the session that this was not the case with M.

Robert M. attended the hearing wearing a wig, reportedly to make himself less recognizable because of threats. He told the court he agrees with the diagnoses and considers himself in the early stages of treatment.