Sophie, Marijke, Paula, Ronja, Nicole, Linda, Cindy – they are among the women used, abused, defrauded, intimidated and lied to by casanova Heinrich Brigitta, now a celebrity in The Netherlands, because this group of women told their story on national TV.

 

The TROS programme "Opgelicht?!" (translated as "Fraud?!") highlighted Brigitta's illegal and mischievous actions in a 24-minute item in which several women and one man told their story about this man who they believe will continue to take victims if not stopped. In the past year he victimised at least 15 women.

 

Also called George Edward, Brigitta borrowed money, thousands of euros, from the women without ever repaying and tricked them into taking loans. He promised to arrange repairs to their cars and instead kept the money. He registered uninsured cars to the names of the women, who in turn had to pay the big traffic fines. He threatened and physically abused them. He tricked the women into believing that they were special and treated them like princesses.

 

Also he demanded that the women stop their birth control and forced them into unprotected sex. Four of the women gave birth to children of Brigitta in 2012 and another baby is due this summer. Brigitta would tell the women that he wanted to have a child, but once they were pregnant, he neglected them.

 

In October the women came to know that their relationship with Brigitta wasn't exclusive after one of the women checked his telephone and found photos, films and messages. They got into contact with each other and turned to Opgelicht?! to expose the swindler.

 

At the end of the feature in Opgelicht?!, the TV crew confronted Brigitta with the question why he was doing this with women. He refused to answer the question and merely said that this had happened in the past. He said that he had stopped.

 

But the women don't think that he will stop. They have already heard reports from Curaçao, where he fled to shortly after being confronted by the TV crew, that he has defrauded and abused two women in the short time that he was there.

 

Because of extensive media coverage in Curaçao and the fact that people now know who he is, the women believe that he will most probably leave the island. The group of women in The Netherlands, who will soon file a joint complaint against Brigitta, have indications that he may flee to St. Maarten.

 

The women want him stopped before he can victimise more people. "This abuse has to stop. He is bad for women. He shows no scruples and continues no matter what," said one of the women.