Petrus van M. from Veldhoven has been in jail since May for masturbating in the presence of his very young grandson. The man also had 90,000 photos and videos of child pornography and sex with animals on his computer. The age of this grandfather is striking: he is 69 years old.
A second man, who has also been detained in this case for a few months, is even older: Arie R. is 77 years old and lives in Berkel en Rodenrijs near Rotterdam. He is said to have exchanged child and animal pornography with Van M. The two also chatted a lot and made video calls via Skype, for example when Van M. masturbated while babysitting.
The men appeared in court in Den Bosch on Tuesday. The investigation into their actions is still in full swing and Tuesday’s hearing was only intended to discuss the state of affairs. Both men asked the judge if they could go home to await trial, but their requests were denied.
Petrus M. was seen in the courtroom via a video link. He is in prison in Grave and is having a very difficult time there. When he heard that his sons were in the room, he burst into tears. “Then I definitely would have wanted to be there,” he said emotionally.
Exchanging child and animal pornography
The family bond cooled considerably when it emerged that Grandpa Petrus had so much child and animal pornography and had regularly masturbated in the presence of his young grandson in recent years. Van M. made images of this and also let Arie R. in Berkel and Rodenrijs watch via Skype. He’s never been anywhere, only online.
The men have been engaged in these practices since 2018-2019 and they admit it. Together they also exchanged child and animal pornography.
Arie R. had approximately 5,800 images and videos of child and animal pornography at home, neatly categorized in folders, just like Petrus van M. With R., just like with Van M., the chats were found in which they mainly talked about sex with each other.
The two never met, because everything happened online. They also did not meet in court on Tuesday, because Van M. had chosen not to come to court. It is not clear how they met each other.
A lot of horrible regrets
Arie R. is said to have played a dominant role, as was briefly mentioned during the hearing. But the exact division of roles still needs to be properly investigated, the public prosecutor said. They now both say that the other incited him to all these actions. Arie would have only watched and Van M. says that Arie encouraged him to take action.
Both men said they deeply regret what they did.
Arie R. celebrated his 77th birthday in prison last month. He is also having a hard time in prison. He wants to go home as soon as possible to start working on himself. He has learned his lesson, he stated. He also let Van M.’s family know that he was very sorry.
According to his lawyer, Petrus van M. has thrown everything on the table. He is relieved that he was able to come clean and tell everything. His two children were in the audience and, together with their lawyer, will be allowed to speak during the substantive hearing and possibly submit a claim for damages.
Van M. is in contact with them occasionally. He has a lot of contact with his girlfriend. According to Van M., she knew nothing about his child and animal porn collection, masturbation and chatting.
According to Van M., it has gotten completely out of hand. I need help, he declared. He would prefer to be treated in a clinic as quickly as possible.
The case will continue on January 17. The status of the research is then discussed again.