The Belgian Public Prosecution Service has demanded a one-year suspended prison sentence against television personality Bart de Pauw. For years, the presenter, actor and program maker sent hundreds of intrusive and sometimes explicit messages to four actresses, two stylists and three interns. Four other young women are also mentioned in the case against De Pauw.
On the first day of the case, both the Public Prosecution Service and the women’s lawyers spoke. The lawyers and the Public Prosecution Service painted the picture of a man who structurally bombarded women with unwanted text messages.
For example, he wrote messages like: “I think you look very sexy there… It makes me a bit brooding…”. He also kept going even when his advances were rejected. For example, he sent an actress to an actress: “I like you so much. I’m in such a zone again that I can’t say what I think or feel, because that’s inappropriate. I like you so much smoking hot. I would like to fuck you.”
De Pauw is also said to have visited the houses of some women and he would have slept in the bed of one of the women during a work trip.
little remorse
So far, De Pauw has shown little remorse, said both the lawyers and the Public Prosecution Service. One of the women’s lawyers emphasized that a lawsuit should never have been brought, but that it is necessary because attempts at mediation were rejected by De Pauw. De Pauw maintains that he only sent text messages in a “flirty” tone.
The public prosecutor said he was not looking for a prison sentence, but would rather see the television personality receive, for example, “a course in victim insight and psychological counseling”. “This file is about recognition, not about a prison sentence. He has already been severely punished socially,” said the Public Prosecution Service.
“De Pauw is not a monster. He comes across as someone with a pathetic side. In some respects comparable to some of his characters,” said the public prosecutor. “That makes him more human, but not unpunished. Even a pitiful person can cause a lot of unrest.”
Famous presenter
53-year-old De Pauw is a well-known presenter and maker of humorous television programs in Flanders. Omroep VRT canceled its collaboration with De Pauw in November 2017 after complaints about cross-border behavior by several women.
The case continues on Thursday. Then the lawyers of De Pauw have their say.
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