Did a 38-year-old inhabitant of Assen force his former girlfriend to work in prostitution or did she want it herself? In the court in his hometown, opinions about this differed widely on Wednesday.
“She asked me to secure her when she was at work. She did the work to buy drugs and arranged for her clients herself.” That is what a man from Assen said in court in Assen on Wednesday about his ex-girlfriend. He called it “shocking” that the 30-year-old woman has reported sexual exploitation. They had a relationship and he did not force her into anything, said the Assenaar. “She also worked as an escort before our relationship.”
Last spring, the woman was heard by the police as a witness in a major investigation into human trafficking in Assen. After that, she also decided to file a report against her ex. That led to a new investigation, in which the 38-year-old man and a 35-year-old friend of his were arrested last fall.
Loverboy
The eldest made the woman dependent on himself and made it appear as if he had a love affair with her, after which he made her addicted to crack (smoking cocaine, ed.) and the woman ended up in social isolation, is the conviction of the prosecutor. He also believes the woman’s statement that she was beaten by the man from Assen; several witnesses have confirmed this. “The characteristic image of a loverboy. The victim was madly in love with him,” the officer said.
He demanded two years in prison against the man and believes that he must pay 35,000 euros in compensation to the victim. A vulnerable woman, who has several disorders and has already experienced a lot of misery. According to the Assenaar, she was smart and calculating. He must have been aware of her vulnerability. Customers and acquaintances described her as childish, among other things.
Idol
The two met in April 2019. The man was imprisoned for a while that year and during that period the woman fell in love with him. When he was released, he moved in with her in her former home in Groningen. He was already dominant and aggressive then, the woman described to the police, but she admired him as an idol.
Eventually the relationship went off and on a few times. In the second period they were together, a year later in Assen, she started smoking the highly addictive narcotic crack under his influence. The man was addicted himself. “She was forced to earn as much money as possible to meet the collective need for drugs,” the officer explained.
Assembly line work
The woman put a sex ad online, the man arranged for her clients. She eventually ended up in an addiction clinic, but after nine months of being clean, she broke the rules and was sent away. She had no shelter and ended up with her ex again, who arranged shelter for both of them with his 35-year-old comrade. Soon the woman was back on crack and receiving men in the house. She says she worked eight or nine a day. “It was assembly line work,” the officer summed up.
The fact that the victim had also worked as an escort in the past does not make the man any less guilty, he said. There are indications that the Assenaar also helped his later girlfriend to drugs. She told police that the victim was “a gold mine for him. She contributed half of her income and paid for his drugs.”
42,000 euros
The victim’s lawyer has calculated that in the total nine months that she was exploited, the woman earned 42,000 euros, most of which ended up with the man either in the form of money or drugs. The woman is now receiving help. The suspect has been in custody for more than eight months.
Six months in prison (suspended for three months) has been demanded against the 35-year-old man from Assen, because he facilitated the sexual exploitation by making his house available. He also received money for it, according to the Public Prosecution Service. The man said he was staying with his girlfriend at the time and knew nothing about prostitution in his house. He is also suspected of laundering around 3,000 euros. He also denies that. The court will rule in two weeks.