Reality star Mark Gillis was face to face with the men suspected of assaulting him with great violence at the court in Den Bosch on Tuesday. This happened in November 2021 at his chalet in the Prinsenmeer holiday park in Ommel. Gillis was sprayed in the face with pepper spray, kicked, beaten and tasered during the robbery. The public prosecutor demanded six years in prison against all three suspects on Tuesday afternoon.
Tense, Mark Gillis arrived at the court in Den Bosch together with his father Peter and his girlfriend Wendy. “I didn’t sleep well last night,” he says. “It will be an intense day, because you will experience it all over again.”
Two suspects are present in court: a 41-year-old man from Bossche and a 43-year-old man from Rosmalen. The third, a 22-year-old man from Den Bosch, did not want to come, partly due to the large amount of media attention. The men are suspected of having attacked Mark Gillis at his chalet on the night of November 6 to 7, 2021 and beat him up considerably.
“They wanted the safe, but I don’t have a safe.”
With great violence, Mark is overpowered that night. He is tied up with tie wraps, duct tape and a telephone cable and abused. The men shout that they want the safe, but he has no safe. The men threaten to stab him in the back if he doesn’t cooperate. The robbers also say that they have already caught Mark’s father, sister and brother.
Mark decides to tell them that there is money in the kitchen drawer. The robbers take that amount with them, along with sixteen watches, an expensive lighter, bracelets, his telephone and sunglasses. Afterwards, they leave Gillis helpless and tied up. The robbery lasted nearly half an hour.
The suspects do not want to say much during the hearing. One always refers to a previously made statement. In it he confessed that he was present in the chalet. But according to him, it was not a robbery, but the men came to discuss a business conflict. That would have gotten out of hand. The public prosecutor called this ‘babble’ because a lot of violence was immediately used and the men allegedly took valuables and money with them.
The other two suspects deny involvement in the robbery. They also think that they do not resemble the men who can be seen on images from a security camera. Nevertheless, DNA material from all three men was found on the clothing that Mark Gillis was wearing on the night of the robbery.
“I was dragged in like I was a piece of street trash.”
After reviewing the CCTV footage, Mark Gillis reads a victim impact statement. He begins his story with a deep sigh. “You attacked me with brute force. I was dragged in like I was a piece of street garbage. I lay waiting for a knife to be stabbed in my back. I really thought I wouldn’t survive. It was a nightmare .”
Mark explains that the robbery has a major impact on his life. “I am scarred for life. In the evening I am afraid, in the night noises wake me up. I hope you get your punishment and you will. But that is only temporary. For me it is life where I have to deal with.”
According to the public prosecutor, the three are jointly responsible and guilty of the violent robbery. In the demand, the officer took into account that:
- the robbery was at and in the home,
- the robbery was in the night,
- it was done by several people,
- they wore balaclavas,
- there was significant violence,
- the robbery lasted a long time, half an hour,
- there was a loot of more than 10,000 euros,
- the suspects have a criminal record.
All suspects present have been in pretrial detention for more than a year, that time would be deducted from their sentence. The judge will rule in two weeks.
