Remember the sexual misconduct accusations that were made against key employees of The Voice of Holland? Well, the OM (Dutch Prosecution Service) has decided to prosecute two out of the four accused men: Rapper Ali B. and bandleader Jeroen Rietbergen.
The OM started investigations into the cases at the end of April 2022, after the Dutch YouTube show BOOS uncovered that dozens of women were subject to sexual assault by employees of the show.
Allegations ranged from unwanted texts to groping, touching, and rape. Four men were put into the firing line: Ex-judges Ali B. and Marco Borasto, bandleader Jeroen Rietbergen and director Martijn N.
Ali B. to be prosecuted
Three rape reports and one claim of sexual assault were filed against Ali B, who was formerly one of the Netherlands’ most popular rappers.
After one rape allegation against him has been dropped, he is now being sued for the three other instances.
In response to the news, Ali B. made an Instagram post in which he expressed his shock, as Het Parool reports. He claims that no prosecutable acts had ever been committed.
According to the rapper, mediation talks with those that filed reports against him are currently ongoing, and “it is incomprehensible that the OM did not choose to wait for the results.”
Jeroen Rietbergen “worked on himself”
Bandleader Jeroen Rietbergen was the only one out of the four suspects to admit that he had crossed a line, but he also denied having committed any criminal offence.
READ MORE | How men can step up against sexual misconduct in the Netherlands
Equally shocked by the news about his prosecution, Rietbergen claims that he has dealt with “all the consequences and worked hard on himself over the past year.”
What about the other two men?
Besides Ali B and Jeroen Rietbergen, two more men had come under scrutiny: Martijn N. and Marco Borsato. So, what happened to them?
Nothing, pretty much. All The Voice-related charges against both men will not be further prosecuted due to a lack of evidence.
Borsato, however, currently has another case pending against him, involving reports of sexual assault of a 22-year-old woman. Decisions in this matter are yet to be made.
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