Lanaken (Brussels Morning Newspaper) – A 29-year-old Dutch woman was sentenced to an 18-month suspended prison term by the Tongeren court for harassing her aunt, damaging property, and violating restraining orders.
As VRT Newspaper, the court gave the Dutch woman an 18-month prison sentence by the Tongeren criminal court for terrorising her aunt, but it was suspended. This means she won’t go to jail unless she breaks the rules.
She also has to pay €2,700 to her aunt, her aunt’s boyfriend, and the neighbour she almost hit. Even though the sentence is suspended, there are rules. She must get help from a therapist to deal with her mental health problems.
She is also not allowed to contact the people she hurt. The court made this decision because her actions were serious. They also want to protect the people she hurt from more problems. At the same time, they want to help her with the reasons behind her actions.
What led a Dutch woman to harass her aunt and neighbours in Lanaken?
In 2018, A 29-year-old woman from the Netherlands tried to reconnect with her aunt, who lives in Lanaken, Belgium. Things seemed to go well at first, and she started visiting her aunt frequently. But the visits became too much.
By 2022, the aunt wanted some space and set boundaries. The woman got angry and didn’t listen. Instead, she drove fast in the neighbourhood, made noise, and sent mean messages. This was the start of her harassing behaviour.
The aunt got a restraining order, but the woman ignored it. She then found out her aunt had a new boyfriend. She started harassing him too, with uninvited visits and threatening messages. She kept breaking the rules and bothering both of them.
She created fake profiles on dating websites. She used her aunt’s name and photos for these profiles. On December 30, 2023, she was found inside her aunt’s boyfriend’s garage in Riemst. This led to a confrontation between them.
She also caused problems for neighbours in Lanaken and Riemst. She damaged their cars by slashing their tires and stealing antennas. She even nearly ran over a neighbour. Because of these actions, the authorities decided to send her to a psychiatric institution.
