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<strong>Child</strong> PornograPhy First report oF the Dutch NatioNal rapporteur
incorporates both an analogue and a digital element. As an international cybercrime, child pornography
is not bound to time or space, and this, in itself, imposes specific requirements as far as
international cooperation is concerned. As an offence, child pornography does not exist in isolation;
it always occurs (and always has occurred) in conjunction with other (punishable) sexual conduct,
ranging from child prostitution to trafficking in human beings, from abuse to grooming or corruption.
2 The influence of ICT has not been limited to the nature and extent of child abuse material;
in fact it has also extended to include other sexual offences in which children can be victims. The
common denominator of these offences is that children are victims of sexual violence. This context
and the interconnection that exists are elements that must also be expressed in the form of policy
and implementation.
The report below illustrates this context and the potential relationship between different offences.
Parents offer their 8-year-old daughter for sex 3
An 8-year-old girl was offered on the Internet by her parents for sex in return for payment. The
police and the judicial authorities intervened just before the child from Hardinxveld-Giessendam
was to fall prey to a 32-year-old man from Brabant. The parents have already been in custody for
four weeks […]. The 32-year-old man from Heusden in Brabant, who had stated his intention to
‘purchase’ the child, was also arrested. The incident happened yesterday morning.
<strong>Child</strong> abuse material
The girl’s parents, a 44-year-old man and his wife, 43, have already been in custody for four weeks.
Their arrest has been kept secret up to now due to the interests of the investigation. They are
suspected of promoting sex with a minor, trafficking in human beings, and producing and distributing
child abuse material. A spokeswoman for the Public Prosecution Service (OM) in Rotterdam
confirmed that the child was taken from her home immediately and placed with a foster family.
The Public Prosecution Service will make a public statement today.
Concerned family member
The police received a tip-off on 12 May from a concerned member of the couple’s family. He had
discovered, on the laptop he had borrowed from the couple, some e-mail correspondence between
them and the 32-year-old suspect. The e-mails contained negotiations as to how much money was
to be paid in exchange for sex with the child. Dozens of photographs had been exchanged, including
photos of the 8-year-old child.
2 Grooming is the term given to making contact with children for sexual purposes. Corruption is allowing
a child under the age of consent to witness sexual abuse or sexual activities for sexual purposes.
Since 1 January 2010, these acts have been made criminal offences in Article 248d and 248e respectively
of the Dutch Criminal Code. The criminalisation of these acts came to form part of legislation
in the Netherlands following the ratification of the Lanzarote Convention (2007) on the Protection
of <strong>Child</strong>ren Against Sexual Exploitation and Sexual Abuse, Treaty Series 2008, 58. See §1.3 for further
details.
3 Ouders bieden dochter van 8 aan voor seks [Parents offer their 8-year-old daughter for sex], AD.nl, 9 June 2011, available
at www.ad.nl/ad/nl/1012/Binnenland/article/detail/2443464/2011/06/09/Ouders-bieden-dochtervan-8-aan-voor-seks.dhtml
(viewed 7 September 2011).