A 57-year-old suspect of several sexual crimes in Schagen was found dead in his cell in Nieuwegein on Monday, the morning before his criminal trial started. The man committed suicide, according to a spokesperson for the Judicial Institutions Agency (DJI). The substantive hearing of the case, which was to take place on Monday and Tuesday at the court at Schiphol, has been suspended indefinitely and the prosecution is stopped.
The man, who according to it Noordhollands Dagblad worked in a snack stall, was suspected of sexual abuse of underage employees between 2014 and 2025. Eight young people have filed a complaint against him. He was also suspected of possessing and producing child pornography. The man was arrested in February and has since been in pre-trial detention.
Suicide of prisoners does not occur often in the Netherlands. Since January, at least nine people have committed suicide in a penitentiary institution (PI), according to the lists of incidents that the DJI publishes monthly.
Under observation
It is still unclear how the suicide could have happened and the service cannot comment on the case. In any case, the sex suspect from Schagen was not under enhanced supervision in the PI in Nieuwegein. This only happens “if people give signals that they are not mentally well” and after consultation with a doctor and psychologist, says a DJI spokesperson.
In that case, there is the option to place someone under observation in an isolation cell, with 24-hour camera surveillance. There are no specific dress codes for detainees in a normal cell, the spokesperson said. They may “wear any clothing.” Every death by a detainee is investigated by a ‘disaster investigation committee’, which reports to the Healthcare and Youth Inspectorate.
The death of the suspect hit the victims “hard,” say those involved via On behalf of the Family, part of Victim Support Netherlands. On Tuesday, the second day of the trial, lawyers were to read victim statements. The victims had wanted to let the suspects “know what trauma we have suffered as a result of his actions.” “For us, his choice is indicative. Until the very last moment, he put himself first. As far as we are concerned, this last denial and flight fits in with the pattern in which he has hurt his victims for years.”
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