“Grandpa, I hope I never have to see you again.” Harsh words from a granddaughter to her grandfather in the court in Breda on Tuesday afternoon. Grandfather Aart van der W. (69) from Langeweg was tried there for abusing three of his grandchildren since 2013 until last year. Justice demanded four years in prison against him and a ban on contact with his family.
Grandpa Aart regularly looked back into the room. Behind him sat his children, their supporters and grandchildren. The situation was clear and that hurt Aart van der W. enormously. His family made it clear that they no longer see him as a father or grandfather, since it became known what he secretly did to three of his granddaughters.
The story is the same for all three. In the period when the girls changed from girls to young women around the age of eleven or twelfth, grandpa started caressing the breasts and touching genitals. However, Aart van der W. insisted during the hearing that it was not sexual, but that he wanted to teach the grandchildren something about their bodies during puberty.
He asked the girls a surprising number of questions about tops and bras and immediately checked whether everything fit correctly. He also taught his granddaughters about hygiene without being asked, especially in their crotch. Grandpa called it cleaning and checking if it was clean. And during that check he was on everything.
“But, you did realize that this was wrong, didn’t you?” the judge told him. “Now it is,” he responded. “Then I didn’t really realize that I was doing something wrong.”
Aart van der W. denied the most serious accusations. He had fondled in all kinds of places, but had never penetrated, he said. He had also never ejaculated in front of the grandchildren and there was never any oral sex.
And no, he wasn’t particularly interested in young women. However, that denial became somewhat unbelievable when it turned out that he often visited sites with photos of young women and read stories about incest hundreds of times.
Several family members addressed their father, father-in-law or grandfather in the courtroom. They are all angry and sad and are struggling, each in their own way, with the consequences of Aart’s actions. The family hopes that Aart will remain behind bars for a long time, because the granddaughters will also have to live with the consequences for the rest of their lives.
“You are no longer my father, but Aart or a number,” his son said in a loud voice. “I hope you never get out of jail again. Your educational lessons were only for your own perverse ideas. That you have strayed so far.”
Every time it was emphasized that Aart ‘has no family anymore’, the grandfather bowed his head emotionally. “It hurts me, but it’s my fault,” he acknowledged. “They are right to be angry with me, I have ruined everything. They have psychological problems because of my mistake.”
The public prosecutor noted that although Aart van der W. has acknowledged a number of things, he also denies many events. In addition to a four-year prison sentence, he also demanded a five-year contact and location ban when he is released again. If he visits family members during that period, he will receive two weeks in prison for each violation.
When he is released, it will also be determined whether Aart still needs treatment and how supervision of him and, for example, his computer should be arranged.
The verdict in this case is on May 7.
