Things are going ‘surprisingly well’ with Hilversum Bradley van Dijk, who has been seriously threatened for years, now that more and more suspects of the harassment and death threats are being arrested. That is what Bradley tells NH Gooi. “Everything that happened, of course, leaves a huge scar. But I dare to leave my house for the first time in ages,” said the Hilversummer.
Bradley van Dijk was for years the target of a group of bullies, who falsely accused him of being a paedophile. What he got next was not of the air: for more than three years, Bradley was even terrorized to his front door. And not only him: family, friends and innocent neighbors were also targeted. The bullying went far: Bradley had to die, the group thought.
All the harassment and threats made Bradley increasingly afraid to go out. Afraid to run into his attackers. In recent months, several of his assailants were arrested by the police, including after NH Gooi brought the matter to light.
“What sick mind is doing this you ask. I am very disappointed in humanity”
Tombstone defaced
Still, the harassment hasn’t completely stopped. The low point came last weekend when the gravestone of Bradley’s deceased brother was sprayed with graffiti with the words ‘brad pedo war’. The graffiti caused a lot of sadness, but above all anger. “Most of all, we have a lot of disbelief. What sick mind is doing this, you ask? I’m very disappointed in humanity,” Bradley says.
The graffiti seems to have been done by a last pick of the original group of bullies, who are not giving up their ‘fight’ yet.
Back on the street again
Now that the main suspects of the years of harassment and death threats have been handcuffed, Bradley dares to take to the streets again. “I’m slowly trying to do it more and more, but I remain very alert,” he says.
“I’m very wary. If someone just addresses me, it often shocks me. I’m not as scared as I used to be, but I’m certainly still anxious. I’m constantly on when I’m walking on the street.”
“It will never stop completely. That bunch of psychopaths can’t stop”
More and more compassion
As more and more comes out about what Bradley and his family have been through in recent years, they feel more support. Very different from when Bradley was bombarded with false accusations.
“If you’re wrongly accused of insane things like pedophilia, then you just have to defend yourself and prove it’s not true. That’s very difficult,” says Bradley. “Now that everything is coming out and people are being arrested, more and more people are seeing that it is absolute nonsense. People see that the allegations are made up and come from a group of bullies. Now that they are being arrested, people are no longer taking those allegations seriously. We are now much more supported, everyone thinks it’s terrible.”
Caution
Bradley himself finds the support, but also all the recent positive developments in his case, which has been going on for years, difficult to comprehend. “It is new and still feels unaccustomed, but I hope that everything will slowly return to normal,” he says.
Still, he remains cautious. “It will never stop completely,” he fears. “That bunch of psychopaths can’t stop. As long as they don’t all really get caught or come to their senses, they will continue. But I’m holding out hope. It’s going a lot better now and I’m holding on to that.”