A man has been found guilty of ‘grooming’ and has been given a three-month suspended prison sentence. He had responded to a fake dating profile created by a journalism student as part of a study project.
For his project, the student wanted to investigate to what extent adult men would continue the contact if they discovered they were chatting to a minor. He planned to post his research on YouTube. It has not been disclosed where the student was studying.
The man, who is in his thirties, thought he was chatting to a fifteen-year-old girl. Via Snapchat and WhatsApp, he sent her sexually suggestive messages and suggested they meet up. Eventually, he booked a hotel room in Amsterdam Sloterdijk and went there to meet her. When the man actually suggested meeting up, the student reported the matter to the police. As evidence, he provided screenshots of the conversations he had had with the man.
The judge describes it as “a very brief case file” and considers it regrettable that the Public Prosecution Service did not conduct a more thorough investigation. Nevertheless, the judge rules that the research project provides sufficient evidence that the defendant is guilty of grooming. The man was given a three-month suspended prison sentence with a two-year probation period.
HOP, Naomi Bergshoeff
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