The longest-serving TBS prisoner in Brabant will not be released for the time being. After prison sentences and many years of treatment in all kinds of clinics, he seemed to be ‘cured’. But 70-year-old Henk from Breda couldn’t keep his hands to himself: after a few beers, he groped the neighbor. His planned release therefore became impossible. The court struck a hard line.
It happened during New Years Eve. Together with the neighbor he sat comfortably on the couch, with a drink. While Henk had promised never to drink again. He raises four fingers to the judges: “Four beers. And I gave her a plate of chips. She was talking about being raped in the past. I patted her thigh.”
That was unwanted and therefore assault. A few hours before the court case, the neighbor filed a report, says the court chairman. “Well then,” says Henk. But he also understands that it was impossible. “Terribly stupid, I feel so small myself,” says Henk in the court of Breda on Tuesday.
Rape
In 1983 he was first convicted of a sex crime, details are not known. After his prison sentence he received TBS, or TBR as it was then called. After a few years of treatment and guidance, he was released again, for a while.
Because in 1987 it went wrong again. He lived in the center of Breda. One evening in the spring he visited a sex club on the Haagdijk. Then he took a taxi to Bonairestraat. He knew that a girl lived alone there. Armed with a potato peeler, he forced his way into her house.
She screamed in fear. He squeezed her throat, swung his knife and tried to rape her. But he couldn’t get excited enough.
36 years TBS
Hank was caught. He was sentenced to three years in prison and then the TBS treatment began. It’s been going on for 36 years now. Henk lives outside Brabant with limited freedoms and supervision. He is now 70 years old. Has gray hair and glasses.
The last few years have been pretty good. One therapist even called him a ‘success number’. Henk spoke at an interim session in 2019 about the shame he felt for the crimes he committed. He said about his TBS: “It has to stop at some point.”
Until recently, the Public Prosecution Service (OM) and the court agreed with him. But something has changed. “It went too fast, we missed things,” says his supervisor from the probation service.
With ping pong
Because of the neighbor’s report, the Public Prosecution Service wants to extend his TBS by a maximum of two years. “I’m not very happy with it,” says Henk. “I feel a bit like a ping pong ball. And all because of those four beers.”
His lawyer Ytsma is baffled by his behaviour. “He was at the last minute, it’s really sad. Incredibly stupid too.” The lawyer asks for an extension of one year and a thorough investigation into what went wrong.
The three judges decide immediately. “The disorder is still there. The chance of recurrence is higher,” says the chairman. The judges impose an extra TBS on Henk for two years. He must report to court again in 2025.
