The great Thijs Römer trial is about to begin. The actor, who is suspected of sexual offenses against minors, must appear in court tomorrow. “I am nervous.”
You could say that it really is a red line for everyone in the Dutch creative sector: working with an actor who is convicted of sexual offenses against minors. It could just happen to Thijs Römer: he has to report to the court in Assen tomorrow to answer for three cases of abuse.
Nervous for press
One of the three alleged victims has already told the media extensively: Nena Kruizenga. Is she ready for the trial? “Yes I am definitely ready! I just have to say that I’ve barely slept for days and I’m really quite tense!”, she writes in her Instagramstories.
It’s not so much the case itself that she’s nervous about. “I’m not really nervous about the lawsuit, but especially about the picture surrounding it, the press and so on!” She says, pointing to the fact that camera crews from RTL Boulevard and Shownieuws will certainly be present, for example.
Role in Murder Woman
Nena has already told extensively about her bizarre contact with Thijs. She says she received an urgent request from the actor to send explicit images of herself. “In return I would be allowed to appear in Moordvrouw and I would get his autograph.”
It would of course be quite sick, especially since Nena was only 14 years old at the time. “At that time I didn’t have a good home situation. And I was looking for attention. Thijs gave me that attention. He was very sweet to me.”
Lies and gossip
Lawyer Maartje Schaap represents the three victims and says in the Newspaper of the North: “The criminal prosecution and certainly the court case is very important for my clients. It indicates that it is not all lies and gossip. In particular, the girl who first came up with her story has been portrayed as a kind of half-wit.”
She is referring to Nena here. “She was even threatened with a counter-declaration. The Public Prosecution Service apparently thinks that something is definitely wrong, otherwise they will not take him to court.”
Four years in prison
Telegraaf journalist John van den Heuvel previously did not rule out that Thijs could end up in prison. The newspaper now writes about this: “Tempting minors to commit or tolerate lewd acts carries a maximum penalty of four years in prison.”
According to the newspaper, the law states that a (suspended) prison sentence must be imposed in any case in such cases. However, those four years in prison are ‘almost never’ imposed, according to the daily.