Hasselt (Brussels Morning Newspaper) – A 51-year-old Hasselt man was sentenced to 5 years for imprisoning, terrorising, and raping his 45-year-old girlfriend in November 2025; he later breached a restraining order and faces another investigation.
As VRT News reported, a 51-year-old man from Hasselt has been sentenced to 5 years in prison for imprisoning, terrorising and raping his 45-year-old girlfriend. The couple met last summer while both were receiving treatment for alcohol addiction in the psychiatric ward of a hospital.
Their relationship was unstable from the start and went through several breakups and reconciliations. During arguments, the man repeatedly sent the woman threatening messages and made frequent phone calls. He warned her that he would “destroy” her.
What happened in Hasselt when a man abused and imprisoned his girlfriend?
The couple met again on November 8, 2025, for dinner and stayed overnight at a bed and breakfast. The following day, they went to a restaurant once more. After the meal, the man demanded that the woman go with him to his home. She refused and tried to leave, saying she needed to pick up her belongings.
The man forced her into his car. While driving at high speed on the N74, he struck her several times. The woman opened the car door in an attempt to escape, but he pulled her back inside. She was later held at his home.
After arriving at the man’s home, the court heard that she was assaulted and raped over 2 days. She was not allowed to dress and was kept locked inside the house. The man blocked her mobile phone.
The woman managed to escape on Monday, November 11, 2025, when the man left the house to buy soft drinks. She ran away. Police later located her and assisted. The man was arrested shortly afterwards. He told investigators that he had only “rounded up” his girlfriend.
He was initially released on bail, but within hours, he breached a restraining order. He was then taken back into custody.
“In a relationship, a woman should find affection, security, and tenderness in her partner, rather than aggression and violence. He displayed extremely possessive and controlling behaviour,”
the court stated.
A man held his partner hostage for days in Mechelen, Belgium, in 2019. He abused and assaulted her physically, and he locked her in her home, preventing her from reaching out to anyone else during that time. In 2017, an Antwerp man was arrested for repeatedly threatening and isolating his girlfriend, which caused both physical and emotional damage.
Many other international incidents have been reported around the world, including the kidnapping of Elizabeth Smart in America in 2002 and the Cleveland abductions from 2002 to 2004. These women were held captive in both cases, where they were physically abused and controlled for long periods of time.
