A 55-year-old man was sentenced on Thursday to 26 months, of which one year is conditional, for indecency with an underage boy. The court in Den Bosch decided this. Remarkably, the public prosecutor had demanded an acquittal because it was not clear whether the victim was 15 or 16 years old at the time.
In 2015, the man was sentenced to ten months in prison, five of which were conditional, for indecency with another minor boy in the De La Salle institution in Boxtel. There the man worked with young people who have a mild intellectual disability or behavioral problems.
He was then fired and was not allowed to work as a pedagogical employee again for five years. The man also received treatment for his pedophile tendencies. Despite this, he made the mistake again a few years later.
Date via Grindr
The man met a boy who also lived with De La Salle via the dating app Grindr. He picked up the boy at the Jumbo in Boxtel and took him home. According to the boy, they had sex with each other there. According to him, the boy indicated in advance that he was 15 years old and lived in that institution, but according to the suspect, this is not the case.
The boy then received a friend request from the man via TikTok. He showed this to his supervisor. The supervisor saw the man’s name and told the boy not to accept the request. The boy was not told why that was. He went there himself google. The supervisor saw that the boy turned white. Then the boy told what had happened.
Officer demanded acquittal
During the trial two weeks ago, the victim’s mother called the man “a predator.” The man himself denied everything. In contrast, the officer had no doubt that the man had forced the boy to have sex. It was impossible for the officer to determine whether the victim was 15 or 16 at the time. That’s why she demanded an acquittal.
The court will not agree to this on Thursday. In 2023, the victim, his mother and supervisor all made statements. Based on these statements, the appointment would have taken place between 2017 and 2018 and at that time the boy was at most 15 years old.
The court also blames the suspect for not disclosing matters. The man worked at De La Salle for years. So he knew very well how vulnerable the victim was.
All in all, this results in a sentence of two years and a month and a half, of which one year is conditional and a probation period of three years. The man must also pay compensation of 5,000 euros.
Here you can read all the stories from Omroep Brabant about crime and criminality.
