The Hague artist Julian Andeweg has been sentenced by the Amsterdam court to twenty months in prison, eight of which are conditional. In addition, he will be obliged to report, a contact ban with the six women who reported the crime and he will be required to undergo therapy. Two victims receive compensation. The court found the 36-year-old artist guilty of one sexual assault, one rape and the long-term abuse of his girlfriend at the time.
“From the case arises the image of a dominant man who, under the influence of substances, is primarily concerned with what he wants and does not take others into account,” said the judge in the judgment that was pronounced in the Amsterdam court on Monday afternoon. The court did consider the artist less responsible because of his personality disorder with narcissistic traits and borderline.
In the lawsuit filed last July, the prosecutor charged the artist with seven counts: three rapes, two assaults, the sexual penetration of a person under the influence and prolonged assault of an ex-girlfriend. The artist denied all allegations except the domestic violence, although he had different ideas about the intensity and frequency of the violence than the woman in question. The officer demanded a hefty sentence: three years in prison, one year of which was suspended.
Also read this article: How an artist makes a career amid persistent assault and rape allegations
Too few witnesses
The court acquitted the artist on Monday afternoon of sexually penetrating a person under the influence. The court had not been able to determine that the woman was seriously impaired. The reports of two rapes and an assault were also not considered proven, because there were too few witnesses, and because in one case the sexual acts were not done without warning.
Andeweg’s lawyer, Peter Plasman, had demanded acquittal for all charges, except for assault. In his defence, he stated that his client had been “poorly pilloried” by NRC, which had carried out ‘an amateur investigation’. His client was the victim of a “seriously derailed witch hunt”.
The artist became in late 2020 NRC accused of rape, assault, intimidation, assault, stalking and robbery by at least 20 men and women. The newspaper described how he made a career in the visual arts, and in the meantime made a series of victims. The art world knew about the misconduct, but looked away. Seven reports were filed against the artist, one of which was dismissed due to the statute of limitations.