A 35-year-old man from The Hague and a 26-year-old woman from Rijswijk have been convicted of libel because they shared information about an alleged pedophile online. They did that three years ago. The court imposed 80 hours of community service on both.
The victim lost his job as a result of the incidents, went into hiding and later moved to another place of residence. The allegations against him of paedosexuality have never been proven: in any case, they have not led to a criminal case against him.
At the end of 2020, the now convicted two shared, among other things, the address and a photo of the man. They also approached his employer with information about his supposed activities. The man would also have been beaten up by so-called ‘pedo hunters’ in the same period.
The two suspects say they had nothing to do with the assault. They did know about it, because they were active in paedo hunter groups. Other paedo hunters would also have thrown a fire bomb through the mailbox of the victim and his family in October 2020, Omroep West writes.
manhunt
In court, the two said they now regret. “At that time I had no idea how much impact it would have on his family and children,” the woman told the judge.
During the trial, the public prosecutor emphasized that it is not the intention to play for your own judge. “This is just a manhunt. Because the police and judiciary do not do enough, they do it themselves. It is unacceptable behavior in a constitutional state, however well it may be intended,” said the officer.
The two suspects must pay compensation of 540 euros to the man and his wife.
- Pedo hunters active throughout the Netherlands, police critical: ‘You quickly make a mess here’
