2023-07-05 06:04:00
An investment adviser by profession, Pieter C. had collected nearly 700 gigabits of child pornography images. More than 400,000 files had been discovered by Antwerp investigators on his home computer. The judicial investigation had also brought to light an orphanage in Cambodia run by him and his wife and which served as a cover for pedophile activities.
The Antwerp court had sentenced him in 2016 to 19 years in prison and 15 years of availability. But on May 4, 2023, the Ghent Sentencing Court released him on conditions in complete discretion, it seems, and the individual has been living in Amsterdam for two months.
Child Focus, which had filed a civil complaint in 2016, reacted with amazement, speaking of an “incomprehensible decision”. “It’s a slap in the face for all victims, all services, including the police,” said chief executive Heidi De Pauw.
According to his lawyers Walter Van Steenbrugge and Dirk Grootjans, the man was punished far too harshly at the time and strictly adheres to the conditions in the Netherlands.
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