74-year-old retiree to be prosecuted for deepfake sex videos of 60 well-known Dutch

After more than a year of investigation, the Public Prosecution Service (OM) has decided to prosecute a 74-year-old retired man from Noord-Holland who created and distributed fake sexual videos of around 60 well-known Dutch people. Princess Amalia, SBS 6 presenter Hélène Hendriks, and former police spokesperson Ellie Lust are among the victims, AD reports.

Police began looking for the man after an earlier investigation by the AD into the notorious platform MrDeepFakes. The 74-year-old is allegedly the key figure behind the website’s Dutch operations. According to the prosecutors, he was by far the most active Dutch user on the platform and is responsible for the major share of the videos on the website.

Investigators then seized the man’s computer and data carriers, where fake footage of about 60 well-known Dutch people, including politicians, was found.

The man faces a prison sentence of up to two years, as creating and distributing sexual deepfakes is illegal in the Netherlands.

According to the AD, some video titles were given very misogynistic and vulgar titles, with views reaching above 100,000.

One of the victims, presenter Sylvana IJsselmuiden, welcomed the prosecution. “I think it is very good that this case is now going to court. I have experienced firsthand what impact this kind of fake imagery can have,” she told AD.

Prosecutors reached out to the Canadian founder of MrDeepFakes. Thirty-seven-year-old David D. is a pharmacist who launched the website back in 2018. At the request of Dutch authorities, he removed the videos and blocked access for Dutch IP addresses. The man is not being prosecuted, as what he did was not considered a crime in Canada at the time.