A 21-year-old man who was convicted for the assault and rape of three young women in Leiden last year has been sentenced to four years in prison.Â
The man was sentenced last Friday. He is responsible for a string of attacks against young women in the student city of Leiden through October, November and December of 2019.
All three victims were attacked while walking home from parties at night. The first victim was assaulted, and the second and third victims were raped.
The attacks left many students feeling unsettled and unsafe and a petition for change was launched.
Calculating
The man was described by the court as “calculating” in his approach to attacking women.
“He has chosen victims who walked alone on the street late at night and were visibly under the influence of alcohol, which made them particularly vulnerable. The suspect has thus caused great unrest and feelings of fear in Leiden, especially among young women who felt unsafe because of the news of nightly rapes and assaults,” the court claimed, nu.nl reports.
Police were able to use camera footage to track the assaulter’s movements.
The sentence
The Public Prosecution Service (OM) has decided that along with a four year prison sentence, he will be subject to a number of restrictions.
Once he is out of prison, he will no longer be allowed to enter the city of Leiden and has been asked not to contact any of the victims. He must also undergo treatment.
How do you feel about this prison sentence? Tell us your thoughts in the comments below.
Feature Image: Bill Oxford/Unsplash.
I cannot understand how a supposedly developed, liberal, and progressive country, such as the Netherlands, can make such a mockery of the justice system by ‘asking’ a convicted rapist not to contact his victims after his pitifully short prison sentence. The Public Prosecution Should should be ashamed.
Only 4 years???
He should have been Neutered and fitted with a 25 year ankle bracelet!