Belgian jury jails man 30 years for killing toddler Dean
Dave De K. was sentenced in Ghent over the death of four-year-old Dean, whose body was found at Neeltje Jans in Zeeland; his Dutch ex-girlfriend Romy W. was cleared of any part in it.
The jury at the assize court in Ghent sentenced Dave De K. (39) on Monday to 30 years in prison for manslaughter and abduction resulting in the death of four-year-old Dean. It also imposed 15 years of tbs (terbeschikkingstelling), under which the Belgian state can keep him in treatment for longer. Belgian prosecutors had demanded 30 years.
The Dutch co-defendant, Romy W. (29), was acquitted on Friday of involvement in the abduction and death of Dean. The jury found her guilty of possessing and distributing images of child abuse, which had nothing to do with Dean. The prosecution had demanded 18 months in prison for that.
Romy W. received no punishment for the images. The court set conditions with a five-year probation period (probatieopschorting), and she has been released.
Dean stayed overnight with De K. and Romy W. on 12 January 2022. De K. was arrested in Meerkerk on 17 January 2022, and the boy's body was found at Neeltje Jans in Zeeland. More than fifty bruises were found on it.
More on crime and the courts
Follow the story: tbs
tbs (terbeschikkingstelling)
A tbs is a court-ordered security measure, in English roughly "placement at the government's disposal," that keeps a person who has committed a serious offence and has a mental disorder under state-supervised care and treatment. It can be imposed alongside or after a prison sentence and is set for a fixed period, which can then be extended for as long as the treatment is still considered necessary. Because the measure is tied to treatment rather than punishment alone, release depends on the person's condition and on an assessment of the risk they pose to society.