Our reporter Saskia Belleman reports live on the lawsuit. Read her Twitter report at the bottom of this post.
47-year-old Kenneth M. is said to have raped a 19-year-old girl twice on October 1, last year: once he locked her in the toilet of the cafe. The second time he waited for her at her house and pushed her against the stairs. She worked for him.
In 1996, Kenneth M., together with his cousin Ritchard L., was part of a drunken group of friends, who got into a fight with several bystanders. Joes Kloppenburg stood up for a man who was beaten up by the group. He yelled ‘Stop it!’, after which the aggression turned on him with fatal consequences.
The court in Amsterdam sentenced Kenneth M. to three years in prison, of which six months were suspended. His cousin and prime suspect Ritchard L. was sentenced to eight years in prison.
Joes Kloppenburg became the symbol of the consequences of senseless violence.