12 years demanded for man suspected of abusing girls through an online game
Prosecutors want 12 years in prison and TBS for a 41-year-old man from Limburg. They link 245 victims to a game he partly built himself; the youngest was 8.
Prosecutors have demanded 12 years in prison and TBS, a hospital order with compulsory treatment, for a 41-year-old man from Herten in Limburg, the Public Prosecution Service (OM) said on Thursday. The man is suspected of the online sexual abuse of a large number of underage girls through a computer game he partly developed himself. The court in Rotterdam will give its verdict in two weeks.
How the game worked
According to the OM, the man approached young girls through an online game, the “Highscoregame”. Players earned points to reach the next level by doing small tasks they read on their screen. The tasks started innocently, with waving at the camera, and went further and further as the game went on. The children did not know that the man was watching and recording.
The OM also suspects him of blackmailing some of the children with the recordings to make them go further. On his computer, investigators found at least 255 videos of girls made between September 2017 and 1 October 2025, the day he was arrested. The man denies using force: he says he received the blackmail texts and those videos from someone else. The OM does not believe him.
245 victims
Investigators linked 245 victims in the Netherlands and abroad to the man, including girls from Belgium, the United States, Australia and Germany. The youngest was 8. Twenty girls were identified: 12 from the Netherlands and 8 from Flanders. At the hearing, six victims described the impact on their lives.
The police first came across the man on 3 July 2024, through information from the United States. He is suspected of using a dark web forum where images of child sexual abuse were shared. The Limburg police team against child sexual exploitation (TBKK) investigated the case for the OM’s National Office.
Besides the abuse through the game, he is on trial for possessing, making and spreading images of child sexual abuse, having a so-called paedophile handbook and taking part in a criminal organisation.
