A 77-year-old man from Assen has been guilty of depriving his then wife of his liberty. The court in Assen determined this. She has been locked up in the house for a long time.
The criminal case against the elderly man was recently heard. But the woman already filed a report in June 2021, according to the recent court ruling. The victim told the police at the time that she had been deprived of her freedom for a long time by her then life partner. This is said to have started in 2009, after her rehabilitation from a brain haemorrhage, which left her paralyzed on the left side of her body.
Once home, she was locked up by the man, according to her statement. She says in her report that the suspect locked all the doors of the house and that she had no keys. There was a lot of arguing and her partner allegedly accused her of bringing men into her home. She was locked up so she couldn’t go anywhere. When he left, he locked the door. In recent months, her family was no longer allowed to visit her.
The GP warned years earlier
According to the court, the medical data attached to the report shows that the GP indicates that a warning had already been issued in 2016 about the overburdening of informal care. There was also some care-avoiding behavior on the part of both the suspect and the victim. It is also indicated that the woman cannot leave the house because the suspect had changed the locks.
A niece also stated that her aunt was locked up for a long time. According to her statement, the suspect had mood swings and had bad interactions with the woman. The niece says she was not allowed to visit her aunt in April 2021. Sometimes the man was gone for whole days. The woman also had no computer or telephone.
The court determines that the man unlawfully deprived his then life partner of her liberty. “This was for a longer period of time, but in any case in the first half of 2021 in their then shared home in Assen.”
Powerlessness
Although the man was found guilty, the court imposed no punishment on him. “The suspect’s actions appear, according to his relatives, to arise on the one hand from a form of powerlessness and on the other hand from his psychological problems. Several family members report symptoms reminiscent of delusions.” The court also takes into account that the general practitioner already warned in 2016 about overburdening the informal caregiver.
The court further notes that the suspect is now of advanced age. A report from the probation service shows that the suspect appears confused and forgetful and does not seem to understand what is happening. Communication with the suspect is difficult. The court noted this at the hearing itself. The man is considered less accountable.
Too much responsibility
The man and woman have been separated for almost three years. “After her brain haemorrhage, the initially good relationship turned into an informal care relationship that turned out to be too much of a responsibility for the suspect.” Given all these circumstances, the court reached a guilty verdict without imposing a sentence, as was also demanded by the public prosecutor.