MAASTRICHT - The public prosecutor in Limburg has again gone wrong in the case against a man from Weert suspected of possessing nearly half a million child pornography images. The trial against Eric L. was scheduled to resume Tuesday, but sources indicate that the prosecution has not issued the summons to the suspected Limburger. Therefore, the substantive hearing has been postponed again.
Earlier, the judge dismissed the prosecution's charges against L. because the allegations were not concrete enough. The judge found that despite case law, the prosecutor had chosen to describe only broadly what was seen in the child pornography images. The immediate consequence was then that L. was released, the case had to be stayed, and a new subpoena had to be prepared.
In issuing this subpoena, something has now apparently gone wrong. "I find it remarkable that in an investigation, in which they themselves say that the suspect is one of the largest child pornography collectors in the Netherlands, for the second time the OM has not put its house in order. I wonder if the judiciary still takes the case seriously," said Maastricht criminal lawyer Ivo van de Bergh.
The prosecution could not be reached for comment Friday.
