A 28-year-old man from Hoogezand was convicted by the court on Thursday of rape and sexual assault of two 15-year-old girls. The court finds it shocking that he continues to deny it.
According to the court, the man acted cunningly and forced the underage girls to have sex. He threatened to show non-existent nude photos to their parents, to harm their family and incessantly sent the victims angry and derogatory messages.
One of the victims showed up on the convicted man’s neighbor’s doorstep at the beginning of this year. When he opens the door, she tells him that her boyfriend hit her and spat on her. Before the neighbor can do anything, he hears the suspect Hoogezander shouting something at the girl. Only after three months did the girl open up to her mother and say that she had had involuntary sex several times with the man, who was 14 years older.
13 girls reported the Hoogezander to the police
This turned out not to be the only case against him. In April 2021, he went too far several times with a 14-year-old girl, including in a forest in Veendam. Since 2018, a total of thirteen women have reported the man’s behavior to the police. He was ultimately only prosecuted for the cases at the beginning of this year and those from 2021 in Veendam. The Public Prosecution Service demanded a 3-year prison sentence in court two weeks ago.
There, the man himself insisted that he had been ‘stupid’ by having sex with the 15-year-old girls, but that it was always done with consent. The Groningen court finds this unbelievable. According to them, the victims’ statements are detailed and reliable and are supported by the testimonies of people from the girls’ environment, who heard them talk about the dominant and almost stalking attitude of the Hoogezander.
‘He doesn’t take any responsibility’
The judges convicted the man for several rapes of the girl at the beginning of this year and for assaulting the victim several times in Veendam. “The court finds it very wrong that the suspect continues to maintain to this day that there was purely consensual sexual contact. He takes no responsibility for his actions. This does not show any remorse or compassion for the girls.”
However, the court sees reason to impose 1 year of the required 3-year prison sentence conditionally, so that the man has an incentive to undergo treatment for psychological problems and move into supervised and protected housing. The judges also impose a contact and location ban with the two victims for 4 years. He must also pay compensation to the two victims: more than 2,000 euros to the girl in Veendam and 10,000 euros to the other victim.