Dutch man on trial over alleged online abuse says he entered a fantasy world

Bas P., from Herten in the southern Netherlands, told a court in Rotterdam that he had not sufficiently realised he was dealing with real people while playing a computer game he had partly developed, Dutch news agency ANP reported.

He is suspected of eight offences, including forcing girls to perform sexual acts on webcam, possessing and distributing child sexual abuse material, and participating in a criminal organisation. ANP reported that the case concerns the alleged online abuse of 245 underage girls.

P. said the game began relatively innocently, but that players were asked to perform sexual acts on webcam at the final level. He said the appeal for him was the thrill of seeing how far someone would go. He also told the court he did not know why he saved the images and needed professional help.

ANP reported that chats and videos are said to show threats to make footage public if girls refused to perform sexual acts. P. denies using coercion.

Local broadcaster L1 reported before the hearing that two days had been set aside for the case and that P. had been held since October 2025.

In February, a civil court in The Hague ruled that an earlier prosecution service press release about the case was unlawful because its wording suggested P. was guilty of coercion and blackmail. The court declined to order a further correction after prosecutors amended the release. That ruling concerned the press release, not the outcome of the criminal case.