Moroccan hotel employee Karim O. (38) is suspected of a long series of assaults and attempts to rape women. Justice demanded six years in prison on Wednesday.
Karim worked for a time for a hotel in Maastricht. He made that city his hunting ground between 2016 and 2018, the justice department describes.
Deputy deployed
The Rabat-born hotel employee is suspected of 14 assaults, one rape and the assault of a female cop. She had been employed as a decoy agent, in order to catch Karim off guard. By his own account, she too became a victim of his sexual urges; the man roughly grabbed the agent's private parts.
License plate taped
Police investigations reveal the picture that Karim went out mainly on Fridays and Saturdays, before or after work. He would approach women on his scooter and then grope them in intimate places. He had taped off the license plate, to avoid recognition. Yet the women stated broadly the same thing.
Pretty dirty
Several victims, for example, tell of his specific way of breathing during the alleged assaults. He is said to have breathed somewhat "aggressively," as if excited. Another woman describes Karim's breathing as "quite dirty. Most women also talk about a slightly heftier man with a North African appearance and a gap between his front teeth.
Unhappy marriage
Karim himself has nothing to say about it. He even uses his right to remain silent when the judge asks him why he says nothing. Incidentally, the thirty-something did make summary statements to the police earlier and even made confessions. Among other things, he says that his wife "gave" him too little sex and he became "sick" of it. That allegedly led to the assaults.
Young daughter
Several victims heard Karim say Wednesday. "And then you explain nothing. You have a 13-year-old daughter, don't you? Does this then do nothing to you at all?" the judge tried again. The answer remained unchanged: "Right to remain silent."
Years in jail
Karim has been in pretrial detention since Sept. 14, 2018. Thus, if it is up to the justice system, he will remain in prison for years to come. According to lawyer, such a sentence is not appropriate. Statements vary widely on points, he argues. In addition, a second suspect was arrested earlier. "The fact that he is no longer a suspect does not mean that you can just put those facts on my client's plate."
If Karim were to receive a prison sentence, it should be a sentence of months rather than years, Van de Bergh believes.
