Four young men robbed four gay men in the woods around Uden in the spring. They deliberately chose their victims, because these men would not easily report the crime, out of shame. But the young men were caught in the fourth robbery. On Monday, four years in prison, two of which were conditional, were demanded against the first suspect, Kaissar J. (21) from Uden.
While Kaissar was mainly silent at previous hearings and showed no feeling for the victims, this Monday he was an open book. He had chosen to come clean, partly thanks to his new lawyer.
And Kaissar came out on several fronts. He not only confessed that he was involved in the four robberies of gay men in March and April, but he also said that he himself is homosexual.
Kaissar thought it was important to come out about this, but he fears the consequences. His family will not accept his orientation, he expects. And even in the prison in Grave, his cellmates will not all react with equal understanding, Kaissar knows, given the praise he previously received for ‘tacking those gays’.
Confessions for a reduced sentence
The probation service, which had discussions with Kaissar, cannot properly assess whether the young man of 21 sincerely means it or wants to pretend to be better. According to the public prosecutor, it may well be that the confessions were made to reduce the sentence, also because Kaissar does not want to reveal his orientation anywhere other than in court.
The fact was that Kaissar’s attitude had completely turned. He confessed to all robberies and apologized profusely to the four victims, mainly older men up to 72 years old.
Those men are still dealing with the consequences of the robberies in the woods around Uden, because things were not done gently at the time. The men were contacted via the dating app Grindr lured to the countryside. Several men appeared there and robbed the victim. Under threat of a knife, the men had to transfer money to a crypto account or withdraw money in Uden.
Two robberies were successful, but in one the transfer was not successful. The fourth robbery, on the Fazantenweg in Langenboom, went wrong because the victim realized that he was being lured into a trap. He managed to drive away quickly and alert the police. The men were tracked down because there happened to be a police helicopter in the area.
Three men were arrested for the robberies, but strangely only Kaissar stood trial on Monday. Although the robberies had started through him, the other men also played a major role. Their case is still ongoing, was all the public prosecutor wanted to say about it.
Using Grindr Contacts for Robberies
Kaissar’s case ultimately revolved mainly around his orientation. He had been secretly meeting with men for a while and accidentally shocked a co-suspect Grindrnotification on his phone. He decided not to admit that he was gay, but to act tough and started using those contacts to commit robberies.
The first robbery on March 8 was with a 62-year-old man with whom he had already met three times. The robbery failed because Rabobank did not trust the transfers in the middle of the night.
But after the first ‘forced’ robbery out of toughness, Kaissar consciously continued with the robberies, he admitted. He couldn’t explain exactly why, it seemed that he wanted to keep up the appearance that he was not homosexual.
Kaissar seemed to minimize his role and denied, for example, holding a knife and punching one of the men hard in the face. That man spent weeks in life-threatening condition in the hospital and had to undergo brain surgery. According to Kaissar, his accomplice was to blame, even though the victim says it was him.
Juvenile institution or prison with adults?
The dilemma in the case is whether Kaissar should receive help or punishment. And whether he should be tried under juvenile justice or as an adult. The public prosecutor opted for a mix: two years in prison and two years of probation. And that suspended sentence comes with conditions. Kaissar must move into assisted living and be helped to build a new life. He had no work and did not go to school, that must change.
Kaissar’s lawyer would especially like to see him get help, despite the ‘horrific facts’. “Who should he learn from now that he has lost his family?” she wondered. According to her, efforts should be made to train him and he should be sent to a youth institution as soon as possible instead of a prison with adults for his safety.
In his final word, Kaissar apologized again. “Nobody deserved this. I’m sorry.”
The verdict in this case is on December 15.
Here you can read all the stories from Omroep Brabant about crime and criminality.
