Four men from Venlo and Arcen have been sentenced to prison sentences for extortion and mistreatment of homosexual men, including John Luijten from Dongen. The suspects were looking for their victims through the DatingApp Grindr, made agreements for a sexual meeting and then attacked them.
Main suspect DM from Venlo received five years in prison, three years less than demanded by the Public Prosecution Service. According to the judiciary, he was the ‘bait’ on the app and involved in all robberies. DB from Venlo (21) received 4.5 years in prison for his share in three robberies. Both men were not present at the pronunciation.
The 22-year-old YS from Venlo and OA (22) from Arcen were present and were given three and 2.5 years in prison respectively, one year of which was conditional. All four suspects must also pay thousands of euros of compensation and grief money to their victims.
Homophobia
According to the court, the crimes were not inspired by homophobia, despite derogatory comments about homosexuals by the perpetrators. The use of Grindr made it easy for the suspects to get in touch with victims and to meet in remote places, whereby the victims were less likely to report a report.
The court also condemned the four because of their attitude during the investigation. They expressed little regret, saw their actions as ‘a big joke’ and paid little attention to questions from the police, leaving many things unsolved. With the captured money, the perpetrators even went on holiday to Spain.
Threatened
The victims were held for hours, tacked and threatened. There was a threat of disclosure of photos and personal information. In one of the robberies, even house keys were taken, so that the perpetrators could come back later. The public prosecutor warned that there would probably have been more victims if the police had not intervened.
When determining the punishment, the court took into account the young age of the suspects and the lack of a criminal record. Both the convicted persons and the Public Prosecution Service have two weeks to appeal. Any appeal may wait for the suspects in freedom.