Article 251 of the Penal Code focuses on protecting children from sexual abuse and corruption, including grooming. Grooming is criminalized in the first paragraph (c) of this article. It involves conduct in which an adult or someone posing as such approaches a child under the age of 16 with the intention of proposing and realizing a sexual encounter. This can take place either in the physical world or online.
What is an example of grooming?
Example: Suppose a 45-year-old man contacts a 14-year-old girl through a social network. He begins with friendly conversations and over time he tries to sexualize the communication by sharing suggestive comments and sexual content. He then proposes to meet her secretly for a sexual encounter. He makes several attempts to arrange this meeting by persuading the girl and increasingly isolating her from her parents and friends. The man's actions fall under grooming because he is sexually soliciting a child and attempting to arrange an encounter for sexual purposes.
What does the law article say about grooming?
Article 251 Sr deals with the punishability of sexually inappropriate conduct toward children under 16 years of age. The article criminalizes three forms of sexual solicitation:
- Sexchat (subsection a): Intrusive oral or written solicitation of children for sexual purposes, both online and offline.
- Sexual corrupting (subsection b): Showing sexual acts or images to children, placing the child as a witness.
- Grooming (section c): Proposing an encounter for sexual purposes to a child and taking steps to make that encounter a reality.
The penalty for these crimes can be up to two years in prison or a large fine. The law allows for punishment even if the offender pretends to be a child, without the child actually being involved.
An important point in this article is the criminal exclusion ground in the second paragraph, which applies when the situation is equivalent between peers. This means that if young people of similar age in an equivalent situation approach themselves sexually, this is not punishable, provided the behavior is not harmful. This nuance ensures that not every sexual interaction between young people is automatically punishable, but does emphasize the protection of younger children from harmful sexual approaches.
Law article grooming
Article 251 reads:
- One who is a child under the age of sixteen years or a person pretending to be a child under the age of sixteen years:
a.makes intrusive oral or written sexual advances in a manner deemed harmful to children under the age of sixteen;
b.causes an act or visual representation of a sexual nature or of an unmistakably sexual nature to be witnessed in a manner deemed harmful to children under the age of sixteen; or
c.proposes an encounter for sexual purposes and takes any action toward accomplishing that encounter,
shall be punishable by imprisonment not exceeding two years or a fine of the fourth category. - Punishable with imprisonment of not more than one year and six months or a fine of the fourth category is the person who commits the conduct referred to in the first paragraph with respect to a child between the ages of sixteen and eighteen years or a person posing as such under the conditions set forth in article 245, first paragraph, described circumstances.
- Not punishable is the person who, as a peer, commits the conduct referred to in the first paragraph, opening words and point c, in the context of an equivalent situation between that person and that child, insofar as that child has reached at least the age of twelve years.
Are you suspected of "grooming"?
The attorneys at Kötter, L'Homme & Plasman Lawyers are experienced criminal law specialists and can assist you at the time you are suspected of grooming.
Our attorneys will discuss the criminal case with you and work with you to determine a strategy that will achieve the success you desire. However, it is good for you to know that our lawyers do not bake sweet cakes; we give sound, honest and sincere advice. Should you have to appear in court, they will carefully prepare you for the hearing. The attorneys at Kötter, L'Homme & Plasman Advocaten will ensure that you are represented in the best possible way during the hearing.
If you have any questions about this, please feel free to contact our office. You can send an e-mail to info@klpadvocaten.nl or (during office hours) call 020-6731548. In case of emergency (you or someone you know may soon be arrested), please contact us at our emergency phone number 06-24428734.
Read here more about what different sex offenses there are.
