According to the Solicitor General, suspect Calix W. (53) sexually abused his daughter multiple times from September 2004 to August 2010. As a result, the daughter became pregnant and gave birth to a baby girl in March 2011, during a school trip in Groningen. At the time of the delivery she was 12 years old.

 

The Prosecution considered it proven that W. had abused his daughter sexually some 300 times since she was six years old. The majority of the abuse took place in The Netherlands, but the daughter also was forced to have sex with her father when they moved back to St. Maarten for a few years. According to the prosecution, it can be excluded that the father had sex with his daughter only one time, as the suspect had been claiming.

 

The Court of First Instance in Groningen sentenced W. last year to a prison term of 10 years, in conformity with the Prosecution's demand and W. filed an appeal. He has denied that he systematically abused his daughter. He admitted that he had made her pregnant. DNA tests confirmed that the St. Maartener was the baby's father.

 

The daughter, who is now 13, thought it was normal for fathers to have sex with their daughters. She considered the abuse a normal part of life. According to the Prosecution, the facts are very serious and a long-term prison sentence is warranted. The daughter and her child will bear the consequences of the suspect's behaviour for the rest of their lives, contended the Solicitor-General.

W. already had been sentenced for raping an elder daughter in 1995. Despite this sentence, he was granted custody of his youngest daughter and her brother. The children's mother was no longer present in the family.

 

The Court of Appeal will pronounce a ruling on February 28. The maximum sentence for this kind of crime is 12 years.