A 13-year-old boy was assaulted and raped in Eindhoven last year. But he saw that man more often after that and on his instructions Damian J. (35) was arrested. And it turned out: his DNA also matched a rape of a 16-year-old boy in Boxtel in 2019. Justice demanded four years in prison and TBS with conditions against J. for both cases on Thursday.
And with that demand came an end to a long lawsuit. Because in January Damian J. was already in court for these two facts, but the case was then stopped. Too little was known about the man’s mental state and so the court decided that Damian J. had to be examined by a psychiatrist and a psychologist.
Just before the end of the year, the case was finally completed. The experts have determined that Damian has reduced accountability and must be treated. He is very closed and finds talking about his feelings and emotions very difficult. It was established that he is attracted to teenage boys, although J. himself denies this.
It is certain that J. stopped a 13-year-old boy in broad daylight on September 12 last year on the cycle path along the Beatrix Canal near Eindhoven. He offered him 100 euros for a photo of his genitals, but the boy was of course not very keen on that. Then Damian reached into the boy’s pants. According to the boy, Damian pushed a finger in and therefore the judiciary assumes rape.
The boy was later able to indicate to the military police who the man was and Damian J. was arrested.
DNA match with another case
And when his DNA ended up in the database, a match emerged with a case from 2019. Then, on February 24, a 16-year-old mentally disabled boy ran away from an institution in Boxtel. He met Damian in a park and he forced him to have sex, he told an employee of the institution. And this time too, it happened in broad daylight.
Damian J. looked the same this Thursday as he did in January: a little huddled. He kept answering briefly in Polish, his native language, which was translated by the interpreter. He likes men and women, but not boys, he stated. And he knows very little about it all anymore. He had a lot of sadness in 2019 after the death of his son and suppressed it by using medicines and drugs.
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The legal part of the case probably went past Damian. The public prosecutor stated that there were two cases of rape of a minor, one of which was also mentally disabled. According to Damian’s lawyer, he did not use a finger on the 13-year-old boy and therefore getting stuck on the cycle path is at most an assault. About the sex with the 16-year-old boy in Boxtel, he indicated that it could have been voluntary, given the boy’s sexual interest.
According to the lawyer, Damian would not benefit from a long prison sentence, but he would benefit from treatment. But the officer disagreed. Rape carries heavy prison sentences and four years in prison seems to suit her perfectly for these two cases. She had also doubted whether Damian should be forcibly treated in a TBS clinic, but had nevertheless chosen to demand the lighter variant, TBS with conditions.
She hopes that Damian will keep his promise to cooperate with his treatment. This is desperately needed, because there is a good chance of recurrence, according to experts. In addition to admission to a clinic, she also demanded that Damian continue to receive treatment and move into assisted living. As far as she is concerned, he is also no longer allowed to use the internet or use drugs or alcohol. He must also receive a contact and location ban.
The verdict in this case is on January 16.
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