Theo van den H. (36) from Valkenswaard tried to commit suicide last year. He didn’t deserve to live, he thought. Because he had touched his daughter. He shot himself through his head with an alarm gun, but his suicide attempt failed. Now he is being prosecuted for the abuse of his own child and the making and possession of large amounts of child pornography.
Theo is in the court in Den Bosch on Thursday. In his posture and in his voice he reminds of his namesake who Maassen has as a last name, but what is being discussed is far from funny.
Theo appears to have slipped considerably in a short time due to large quantities of drinks and drugs. He becomes more and more lonely after his divorce and his five -year -old daughter is actually the only one who still sees the carpenter.
In a continuous haze of alcohol and drugs, Theo developed a preference for sex with children. The public prosecutor described how that development had gone: first he went searching for images of sometimes very young girls on the internet, then he purchased a children’s sex doll with which he did everything and filmed that.
Commit suicide
A year later, in August 2024, Van den H. went even further and touched his daughter in bed at night. After that he regretted so much that he wrote several farewell letters and went into the woods with his quad to commit suicide.
But that failed and Theo managed to drive home again. It is known that a converted alarm gun is not that reliable. They are simply not made to fire real bullets and if you do convert them, they often refuse or sometimes come out at a much lower speed.
Theo did have a bullet in his head and video with his ex. His daughter took up and saw her father bleeding in the picture. When the police went to watch Theo at home, he was in a underpants of his daughter. Sex dolls were found in the house and 1650, sometimes very intense, images of children’s porn on various phones.
Farewell letters
In his farewell letters, Theo had written that he didn’t deserve to live any longer “because he had touched his daughter.” But his ex and also the public prosecutor think that Theo has been on his daughter more often. “Dad wanted to do more often”, the girl would have said to agents in a special interrogation studio.
Theo’s ex, who is now pregnant with her new friend, was very emotional and angry. She fiercely took out to Theo and thought he saw himself as the victim and did not take responsibility. “You said goodbye and gave your daughter to my friend. And now you want contact again? ”, She asked him angry. “A father should give norms and values and not this.”
Theo had trouble finding words and didn’t tell much. He stated that he only touched his daughter once, on her underpants and not in it. Furthermore, he was very sorry, but he was happy that he is now being helped with his alcohol and drug addiction.
Nightmare for the mother
The officer called Theo’s story a ‘nightmare for the mother’. “She still doesn’t know what exactly happened to her young daughter. He only thought of himself with drugs, alcohol and sex and did not think about the interests of his daughter. “
She demanded a four -year prison sentence, one of which is conditional. Theo must also be treated with his drug and alcohol addiction. Organizations such as Veilig Thuis and Youth Care will also have to play a role. But whether Theo will ever see his daughter is just the question. Her mother wants to leave that to her daughter in due course.
The decision in this case is on March 13.