The court in Amsterdam last month put a line through a broadcast of crime program Undercover in the Netherlands. Showing the episode would have caused “irreparable damage” to the couple followed in the broadcast: riding stables who had placed an ad on an adult site.
The husband of the couple is accused of sexually transgressive behavior in the SBS broadcast, known for the use of a hidden camera. But according to the judge, the makers of the program, which is presented by Alberto Stegeman, have tried to provoke an abuse and it is also very doubtful whether there is indeed an abuse.
Erotic vacancies
The broadcast in question revolves around a vacancy that the riding stables had placed on the internet: “Girl wanted for jumping stable”, the text read, with “also work as a personal assistant for male and female riders”. Requested age: 18+. The vacancy was posted on a sex site in the subcategory ‘erotic vacancies’.
The man and his wife love BDSM sex – a sexual role play with master and slave – evident from the verdict of the court. They were looking for someone who could participate as a permanent partner.
An adult woman comes forward as an interested person: a sex worker who is Undercover in the Netherlandsproducer Noordkaap has been hired to infiltrate the management. She presents herself as a 19-year-old who is “open to a lot”. The woman has a number of app conversations and meetings with the riding school owner and secretly records them.
Role play
According to the judge, it must have been clear to the woman from the start what the intention of the ‘vacancy’ was. The fact that the ad text was on an erotic site was “not to be missed”, according to the verdict, partly because of visible categories such as ‘ladies of pleasure’, ‘SM’ and ‘erotic massage’. “The fact that people mindlessly put a check mark here without seeing that it is a sex website, as Noordkaap has stated, is therefore considered completely implausible,” the court said.
The horse owner was also clear about his intentions in contact with the interested woman, according to the court. The man has stated several times that she should honestly say “if she was up for a BDSM role play, and that she shouldn’t if she didn’t want it”.
Under 18
At one point, the man rejects the infiltrator, because “riding jumping horses was not for her”, as it turned out during a second meeting. However, she continues to press for a job. At a certain point, it is not clear whether this was before or after the second meeting, the woman also lowered her age: she would not be 19, but 17.
“Apparently to create an abuse in this way”, the judge ruled, who stated that the woman could not have had any indication that the riding school owner was looking for an underage girl. “On the contrary, he has stated several times that he does not want to have sex with her until she is 18 years old.”
‘Nothing provoked’
All in all, the judge concluded: “In view of the way in which the defendant provoked the ‘abuse’ and the expected irreparable damage for the claimant, the broadcasting of image and sound material is prohibited.”
An injunction has now also been issued on appeal. The program makers disagree with the ruling because they do not recognize themselves in the facts listed by the judge, Alberto Stegeman said in a response. In addition to being a presenter of Undercover in the Netherlands also director of producer Noordkaap. “We have not provoked anything, but recorded an abuse. We are considering the next steps.”
Unusual
It is highly unusual for TV programs to be banned before broadcasting, because such a ban harms freedom of expression, among other things. However, the judge concluded that the riding school owner’s right to privacy weighs more heavily in this case.
–
