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Hof in the Dutch town of Ruinerwold: The authorities did not notice anything
Photo: Wilbert Bijzitter / EPA-EFE / REX
The man who is said to have isolated his children on a farm in the Netherlands for years is not being prosecuted.
The criminal court in Assen ended the proceedings because Gerrit Jan van D. was unable to take legal action due to his poor health.
The 68-year-old suffered severe brain damage after a stroke in 2016, is paralyzed on one side and cannot speak.
According to the court, it is unclear how much he perceives of his outside world.
After the decision, he will now be released.
For nine years, the man lived completely isolated with six of his nine children on a remote farm in Ruinerwold in the north-east of the country, near the German border.
According to their own statements, neighbors hadn't noticed anything.
Van D. was charged with years of deprivation of liberty for the children.
He is said to have terrorized them and also sexually abused some of them.
The public prosecutor's office and defense pleaded for the proceedings to be discontinued.
Several experts had stated that the defendant was unable to follow the trial.
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lmd / dpa
