Verdict on appeal in the Nicky Verstappen case,
continued
@SaskiaBelleman
Moving on to the unlawful deprivation of liberty of #Nicky.
According to the court of appeal, it is an established fact that the boy was touched in a lewd manner by a man who was 24 years older and unknown to him. The court of appeal therefore also assumes that Jos B. deprived him of his freedom.
#Nicky was a timid and fearful boy who would never have walked off the camp himself, says the court. He would also never have gone with a stranger just like that. There is no evidence that the now-deceased camp master Barten was involved in this.
Thus, lewdness is proven. Deprivation of liberty proven.
Now the question is whether the 1984 and 1985 vice cases can serve as linking evidence to the facts of which Jos B. is suspected in this case. At the time, Jos B. groped three boys, in the summer and in the countryside.
He held the boys down and committed lewd acts with them, says the court. He touched their genitals. The boys were between 10 and 12 years old.
Jos B. was sexually attracted to young, pre-pubescent boys, says the court. Moreover, he knew the area well. He was a nature lover and lived about 12 kilometres from the place where #Nicky was found.
Also in the case of the 3 boys in 1984 and 1985, these were boys that Jos B. did not know. And he also knew the area where he struck. The court of appeal is of the opinion that the modus operandi is very similar.
In the earlier cases, he grabbed the boys with force, put a hand over their mouths and held them under control while he groped them. The court of appeal therefore believes that the vice offences in 1984 and 1985 can serve as linking evidence in the #Nicky case.
The court sees great similarities in the working method of Jos B. at the time and in 1998: approaching the boys unexpectedly, grabbing them and putting a hand over their mouths.
The court is also convinced that Jos B. was running away from justice in 2018. He laid "a false trail" and did not respond to the call to participate in dna-relationship research. He did not want to be associated with the dna found.
About the testimony of witness Bekir E.: the court dismisses this.
Now the court comes to the cause of death. According to experts this could not be determined with 100% certainty. Numerous options were considered. The prosecutor assumes suffocation and/or smothering.
The court excludes hypothermia, a congenital defect and a fight with his camp mates. A very rare stress-related death and suffocation cannot be excluded, says the court.
The court assumes a non-natural death due to a crime. The court also assumes that Jos B. was involved in all three facts: the deprivation of liberty, the lewdness and the death of #Nicky.
According to the court Jos B. "has been involved in some way in the death of #Nicky". Was there also intent and therefore manslaughter? That is what the court of appeal is now looking into.
Was there any question of what in legal terms is called conditional intention? In other words: did Jos B. knowingly accept the substantial chance that #Nicky would die as a result of his actions?
It cannot be otherwise than that #Nicky died as a result of smothering violence on his head and throat. Moreover, he belonged to an age group in which Jos B. was sexually interested. It cannot be otherwise than that Jos B. forced Nicky to go along.
The boy was forced with physical force to undergo lewd acts. As a result, and possibly also as a result of stress, #Nicky died, the court says. Conditional intention of death has been proven.
The court of appeal points out that Jos B. was 35 years old at the time and much stronger than a boy of 11.
The death of #Nicky has been caused with a "considerable degree of probability" by the deprivation of liberty, and the sexual abuse by Jos B. He was not sensitive to the consequences for Nicky and has subordinated the consequences to the satisfaction of his own needs.
Therefore the court of appeal finds manslaughter on #Nicky proven. And also the deprivation of liberty, the flewdness and the possession of childporno.
Now to the sentencing. The prosecutor has demanded 20 years in prison. We will now hear which sentence the court arrives at.
After his disappearance during a nerve-racking day, #Nicky was found in a Christmas tree plot on the Brunssummerheide. He was dead.
What had happened to #Nicky remained a mystery for years. The court also points to the prominent role of Peter R. de Vries who has always continued to draw attention to the case.
In 2018 there was a dna match with Jos B., who had fled in the meantime, says the court.
#Nicky must have known "particularly frightening moments", the court says. Jos B. deprived an 11-year-old boy of the most precious thing of all: the right to life.
Nicky would go to group 8 after the summer camp. He liked playing football and had a passion for Ajax. How he would have developed will always remain the question. #Nicky will forever remain 11 years of age , according to the court.
Below us, the relatives of #Nicky sit with their arms around each other's shoulders listening, while the court says that Jos B. has not taken responsibility for his act and has not expressed regret either.
The hope that Jos B. would provide clarity about #Nicky's last moments proved vain. The court can imagine that this complicates the processing of the loss for the family.
The court calls it "distressing" that Jos B. has long flaunted his vault statement and the possibility that he would explain something.
The court sentences Jos B. to 16 years imprisonment for kidnapping, sexual abuse and manslaughter of #Nicky Verstappen.
The sentence is 3,5 years longer than the court imposed on Jos B. previously. We can't see any emotions on Jos B.'s face. He puts on his face mask and remains standing with his back to us.
Father Peetje of #Nicky calls after Jos B. when he walks to the cell block: Dirty *advertiser censored*!
Down in the hall, the attorneys general and #Nicky's family members embrace each other. Royce de Vries puts his arms around Berthie Verstappen and #Nicky's sister Femke.
BBM
