62-year-old Omar de B., who coincidentally has the same surname as Elske, but is not related, consciously participated in the kidnapping of the two girls, the judge said. He claimed two weeks ago that he was not aware of any harm and indicated that he only wanted to help. But the judge sees it differently. “Omar played a decisive role by taking Elske and her children to the hiding place in Friesland and was busy with further transport. Only police intervention prevented worse.”
The judge also notes that Omar ‘has not taken any responsibility’. He receives a prison sentence (two months), but minus the pre-trial detention he does not have to go back to prison. In addition, Omar will receive 240 hours of community service. Elske does not have to go back to prison anymore, because of the time she spent in pre-trial detention.
Family happy with contact and area ban
Elske’s family and ex-husband, who were present at the sentencing, are happy that she has been given a contact and area ban. They would have preferred if the judge had agreed to the Public Prosecution Service’s demand (five instead of three years, as the judge has now decided).
The children do not need to be financially compensated by the court, because, according to her, ‘it has not been sufficiently substantiated that they have suffered psychological damage’. That hits home for their father, he says, because they have definitely suffered a blow.
Both suspects were not present at the sentencing.