Convicted sex offender escapes psychiatric facility in Groningen, caught in Leeuwarden
This article was updated after Anna D. was captured, and the fugitive's last name was redacted.
Dutch police caught a convicted sex offender who evaded his supervisor during a work release program organized by the Groningen psychiatric facility where he was incarcerated. Anne D., 41, escaped on Monday morning, and was captured in Leeuwarden that evening.
Police previously stated that the division tasked with capturing fugitives, FAST NL, was mobilized to find D. after he disappeared from sight. He was apprehended by investigators on a public road.
Authorities said D. escaped during supervised work at the Forensic Psychiatric Center Mesdag in Groningen, where he was serving compulsory psychiatric treatment following a 2011 conviction for multiple sexual offenses. According to reporting from Dagblad van het Noorden, D., originally from Oentsjerk in Friesland, was convicted in 2011 of abusing a 14-year-old girl he met through the MSN instant messaging platform.
The newspaper cited earlier convictions for rape and assault, though police have not confirmed those details. Judges ordered D. to serve mandatory time in a TBS facility, part of the psychiatric treatment system for serious offenders who need mental health care.
Earlier this year, another detainee escaped from the same Mesdag Clinic during a supervised outing. Another escape occurred about a year earlier during day release, with that detainee later arrested in Arnhem.
After disappearing, D. was seen in Hoogezand at 11:11 a.m. where he used an ATM to carry out a bank transaction. In an urgent appeal, he was described as 1.86 meters tall, with blue eyes, a slim build, full lips, protruding ears, and dark circles under his eyes. Police also said he is fluent in Frisian.
At the time he escaped, he was wearing a brown winter jacket with light, wide stripes across the shoulders and sleeves, a white hoodie underneath, black work pants, and black work shoes. Police said that in later images from Hoogezand, he was seen wearing a dark hoodie, and investigators warned he may have changed his clothing.
TBS stands for Terbeschikkingstelling, which is a legal measure in the Netherlands that allows for the detention and treatment of individuals deemed dangerous due to mental health issues. The measure can be indefinite, and can also be ordered to precede an order to serve time in a conventional prison.
