The majority of the women who have filed a civil party in the case against TV maker Bart De Pauw will also come to the court in Mechelen on Wednesday. De Pauw himself will also be present. The pleadings will take two days.
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Three years, eleven months and four days. It has been so long since the whole of Flanders looked with wide eyes at the film that screenwriter, director and TV maker Bart De Pauw sent out to the world on 9 November 2017. ‘To be clear: this is not a joke,’ said De Pauw in a minute-long message about the end of the collaboration with the VRT. Result of stories of stalking, of texting bombings on often younger women. At that time, De Pauw said he had no idea who had brought up his behaviour. Almost four years later, the lawsuit starts with nine civil parties, and De Pauw will be confronted with a number of the women, according to various sources.
The two-day process starts at 9.30 am. The vast majority of day one is reserved for the pleadings of Christine Mussche and An-Sofie Raes, the lawyers who represent all women, including the four women who have not taken up civil proceedings, but whom the court finds themselves victims of The peacock.
In the late afternoon, the prosecutor is given the floor. At the end he will demand the punishment that the prosecution deems appropriate. The TV maker from Lier has to answer for digital nuisance and harassment, say stalking. In theory, he risks two years in prison.
No talk time
Wednesday will be a long day for De Pauw. He will have to listen silently on the dock to hear how the thirteen women experienced their (working) relationship with the former goldcrest of the VRT. According to John Maes, one of his two lawyers, they will not speak for a second on day one. Thursday it’s time for his long-awaited defense, his version of how he experienced all that texting traffic with the women in question. After these two days, the court will consider the verdict.
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