Man sexually assaulted, extorted, scammed 24 deaf people, including own daughter
A group of 24 deaf people has collectively filed charges of rape, sexual assault, sextortion, fraud, assault, threats, libel, slander, and identity theft against 53-year-old Dhirin J., himself a member of the deaf community. His eldest daughter, Asina Gopie (27), is among the victims and spoke to AD. His reported crimes date back to the 1990s.
Asina and several other victims previously reported J., but the reports led to nothing. Jordi L’Homme, the lawyer representing Asina and the other victims, isn’t surprised by that. The lawyer and the victims hope that a collective report will make a difference.
“My client was sometimes misunderstood by the police due ot her disability. Others who had previously filed a report also encountered this problem,” he told the newspaper. “In many cases, the clients were deaf or hearing-impaired with limited writing skills, making it difficult to provide statements both orally and in writing. Moreover, some of my clients also have an intellectual disability, which makes it even more difficult to convey their story effectively and completely."
“The nature and severity of the reported offenses are grave and leave no room for doubt about the need for a robust response from the justice system,” L’Homme said. "The fact that I've also had clients come to me who were victims of this suspect as far back as the 1990s, and that there are now 24 victims, shows that these are not isolated incidents but a structural pattern. My clients especially hope that this criminal act will now stop and that their experiences will finally be taken seriously."
Asina told AD that her father physically abused her at a young age, and threatened to kill her and her mother when they got divorced and he lost custody of the children. In 2021, he sextorted and doxxed his daughter, threatening to publish nude photos of her and her address if she didn’t give him money. In August 2024, an acquaintance of Aasina, Navin Dhanikasing, informed her that her father had sent him several nude photos of her. They are private photos, secretly taken by Asina’s ex-husband during a video call and apparently shared with her father. And now J. was sharing them with others.
In recent years, the man lived in Amsterdam and Germany, near the Limburg border. On social media, he posed as a successful businessman and investor, creating dozens of aliases. He also scammed people by posing as a notary, financial advisor, or real estate agent.
Other victims have reportedly lost enormous sums of money to J.’s scams. One victim reportedly lost almost €180,000. They thought J. was investing their money. Others received death threats from J. Others report that he raped and sexually abused them.
Approximately 20,000 people in the Netherlands are deaf and use sign language to communicate. A 2021 study by the Netherlands Institute for Social Research (SCP) found that there is a unique social dynamic in the deaf community, with a corresponding hierarchy between hearing people, hearing-impaired people, and deaf people. Deaf people struggle to make contact with hearing people.
According to Asina, that is exactly why her father was able to victimise so many people for so long.
“When you see him for the first time, people can be impressed. He’s tall, handsome, and engaging,” Asina told AD about her father. “He has tremendous charisma and knows how to wrap people around his little finger.” J. is also an excellent lipreader and can make himself understood relatively well by hearing people.
