Prosecutors seek five years for man accused of arranging child sexual abuse online

The Public Prosecution Service (OM) is recommending a five-year prison sentence for a 55-year-old man from Rijen accused of paying people to sexually abuse young children in front of a camera. Prosecutors say the man requested the abuse through online contacts and that sexual acts involving two minors actually took place in August 2025. The case was heard at the court in Den Bosch on Tuesday.

The case came to light after American authorities alerted Dutch investigators in early March 2026. The investigation uncovered extensive online activity, including contact with 1,369 different accounts, according to Omroep Brabant.

American authorities alerted investigators in March after discovering that a Dutch user was using several accounts on an online platform to seek sexual livestreams involving children. Dutch police used an IP address to trace the online activity to the 55-year-old man from Rijen, a town in Noord-Brabant. The man was arrested on April 29.

Investigators said he repeatedly used a similar approach. He would ask online contacts to communicate with him through what he described as an exclusive environment, and would ask whether they had a daughter and whether she could take part in a show.

The prosecution said his preference was for girls aged between zero and eight. Chat conversations and video recordings indicated that, in August 2025, sexual acts involving two minors took place at his request.

The OM argues that the man can be prosecuted for physical sexual abuse even though the acts took place remotely and he was not necessarily present with the children. The prosecution's position is that the abuse occurred at his request.

The prosecutor described the alleged conduct as repeated attempts to satisfy his sexual desires at the expense of vulnerable children. “He has repeatedly tried over a period of six months to satisfy his sexual desires at the expense of young, defenceless children.”

The prosecutor also stressed that the children remain victims even when investigators cannot establish their identities or where they live. The officer said that not knowing the children's names or locations does not change that fact.

Investigators found additional child sexual abuse material on devices seized from the suspect. According to the prosecution, this included photographs depicting sexual acts involving dolls made to look like lifelike children. Prosecutors said that possessing and creating such images can also constitute criminal offences.

He was previously convicted in 2001 for possessing child sexual abuse material. Because of that previous conviction and the current allegations, prosecutors are seeking not only a five-year prison sentence but also treatment for the man.

The court is due to deliver its ruling in approximately two weeks.