A lot changed for Jan H. (46) from Oosterhout in the summer of 2022. His girlfriend’s daughter came to live with them and Jan got along very well with her. From friendship came expressions of love and lots of cuddling. Eventually the two had sex. He was well over forty and she was 12.
Jan deeply regrets having sex with his much-too-young stepdaughter, it became apparent in the court in Breda on Monday. He doesn’t understand how it all got to this point. Probably the 12-year-old girl provided an opportunity to escape the bad relationship he had with her mother.
“I couldn’t guard my border,” he explained. “I still wonder why. I had little attention from my wife at that time. Perhaps I was looking for attention and security. But, actually, I don’t know.”
If you see Jan H. sitting in the courtroom, you would not think that he is ‘only’ 46. Jan looks older, comes across as a broken man and sobs a lot. He also believes that he needs treatment for his (mental) problems. It is striking that he himself has a 12-year-old daughter.
Alcohol abuse
His life does not sound like a happy story either: a picture was painted of alcohol abuse, domestic violence and a previous abuse case with an 11-year-old girl in 2008 or 2009. She was the daughter of Jan’s then wife.
When his new stepdaughter came to live with Jan and her mother in the summer of 2022, a relationship quickly blossomed between the two. They sent each other sweet messages and sat together on the couch all the time. They ended up having sex, but only when the girl’s mother wasn’t home.
There was never any coercion, Jan stated, but the stepdaughter thinks very differently about that. She stated that she often shouted stop, but that Jan did not respond. It was probably confusing for Jan that the stepdaughter texted her stepfather many sexually suggestive hints. For example, they were often entangled together on the couch.
According to Jan, they only had sex two or three times, because he ‘also saw that it was not possible’. But, according to the stepdaughter, it happened at least twenty times in just over a year. The last time was in April this year. A week later, Safe at Home showed up on our doorstep and Jan has been stuck since the end of the summer.
Rated by experts
Jan has been examined by experts and they recommend a series of measures to prevent Jan from contacting young girls again: assisted living, obligation to report to the probation service, treatment, a ban on contact with the stepdaughter, alcohol control and a ban on contact with minors.
The public prosecutor adopted all advice regarding his claim. He also wants Jan to receive a prison sentence of four years, of which one year is conditional.
The court will rule in this case on December 20.