Child Pornography - Home | National Rapporteur on Trafficking in ...

Implementation
Reference Points of the <strong>National</strong> Consultative Committee for the Chairmen of Criminal Law Sectors
The reference points of the <strong>National</strong> Consultative Committee for the Chairmen of Criminal Law Sectors
are intended to insure that sentences are imposed on suspects in as uniform a manner as possible. The
reference points with regard to Article 240b of the Dutch Criminal Code were established in January
2011. 418 The reference point for possession, acquisition and accessing child abuse material by means of
an automated action or through the use of a communication service, is a suspended custodial sentence
of six months and a community service order of 240 hours. The reference point for distribution, offering,
open exhibition, import, transition and export of child abuse material is a non-suspended custodial
sentence of one year. For the production of such material, this is a non-suspended custodial sentence of
two years. In cases that involve making a profession or habit of committing such offences, the reference
points are correspondingly higher. 419 Production of child abuse material usually occurs in concurrence
with other sexual offences. These behaviours carry a sentence that is considerably higher (a custodial
sentence of six to twelve years) than that demanded with respect to the sole production of material
as referred to in Article 240b, paragraph 1 of the Dutch Criminal Code, where the sentence carried is a
custodial sentence of a maximum of four years, unless circumstances as referred to in Article 248 of the
Dutch Criminal Code are involved. If, for example, it is charged and proven that the offence involves
production of child abuse material in addition to sexual abuse of a child under the age of twelve years,
the custodial sentence can be a maximum of sixteen years. 420
Factors that increase or reduce the sentence include the number of images (physical or digital), the
period of time over which the collection of images was built up, the age of the victim, the nature of the
image(s), the type of image (for example real or virtual production), the professionalism (e.g. commercial
purpose, intention to make a profit), reoffending (recidivism), and the danger of repetition. The
suspect’s willingness – or not, as the case may be – to change behaviour, recognition of problematic
behaviour, and insight into problematic behaviour are also factors that are able to increase or decrease
the severity of the sentence. Factors that increase the severity of the sentence include, amongst others,
the issue of whether the offence was committed within a dependency relationship, for example an offence
involving the underage child of the suspect, or involving a victim who is not – or is hardly – able to
determine its will in that regard or to make it known or to provide any resistance against it, for example
as a result of the underdeveloped mental capacities of the victim. 421
418 See www.rechtspraak.nl/Organisatie/Raad-Voor-De-Rechtspraak/Agenda-van-de-Rechtspraak- 2011-
2014/ Documents/20110211_OrientatiepuntenenafsprakenLOVS.pdf (viewed 16 June 2011).
419 A one-year, non-suspended custodial sentence in the event of making a profession or habit of possession,
a non-suspended custodial sentence of two years in the event of making a profession or habit of
distribution, open exhibition, import, transit and export of child abuse material; a non-suspended custodial
sentence of four years in the event of making a profession or habit of production of such material,
reference points of the <strong>National</strong> Consultative Committee for the Chairmen of Criminal Law Sectors
www.rechtspraak.nl/Organisatie/Raad-Voor-De-Rechtspraak/Agenda-van-de-Rechtspraak-2011-2014/
Documents/20110211_OrientatiepuntenenafsprakenLOVS.pdf (viewed 16 June 2011).
420 No more than a third above the highest maximum if it involves a combination of multiple acts, Article
57 of the Dutch Criminal Code.
421 Other circumstances that increase the sentence apply if the offence was preceded by or goes hand in
hand with torture or a serious violent offence; and if the abuse was committed by two or more associated
individuals, in accordance with Article 248 of the Dutch Criminal Code.
187