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Shots –
The criminal court in Antwerp sentenced Henk VR from Schoten on Monday to forty months in prison with suspension. The retired man had set up a fake breast cancer screening to grope dozens of young women.
The facts date from 2022. Henk VR from Schoten had approached at least fifteen young women, often students, via LinkedIn for a large-scale research into breast cancer. VR even promised compensation to make the research more credible. The women who participated in Henk VH’s research first had to complete a questionnaire. Then they came for a ‘consultation’ in his apartment in Schoten.
All along, the victims assumed that VH was a professional researcher, even though he imposed himself on a number of women as a “confidant”. Most victims only discovered that he was in fact a pervert who had set them up when the police showed up at their door.
Psychological emptiness
Last month Henk VH stood before the judge with his head bowed. When asked why he had set up that whole construction with the false cancer research, he remained vague. “I can’t give a clear answer to that. I was looking for social contacts and intimacy to fill that psychological void inside me.”
The court took the facts seriously, as became apparent on Monday. Henk VR was sentenced to forty months in prison, suspended for five years. VR was imposed various conditions and must, among other things, undergo outpatient treatment. “The defendant showed a serious lack of respect towards his victims. He has used a false pretext to meet the need for physical contact. At no point did he question the possible impact of his actions,” the court said. (jtp)