Research into rape by Antwerp businessman in BDSM atmosphere (Antwerp)
Theme image. – © Sven Dillen
In Antwerp, an investigation into a well -known businessman is ongoing for possible facts of rape, voyeurism and deliberate success. That writes The latest news. The man’s lawyer confirms that there is an investigation, but states that her client denies the facts. Everything would have happened in the BDSM atmosphere.
Seven women witnesses in HLN About their experiences with the businessman, who they met on the BDSM platform Fetlife. The testimonies outline a pattern in which the man, despite clear agreements, would have exceeded their limits and ignored stop words.
One of the women told Fetlife about her experience with the man, and that brought the women into contact with each other. One of them eventually went to the police.
Do not have a conversation in the media
The suspect denies the accusations through his lawyer Sanne De Clerck opposite Belga. The man is currently at home with an ankle strap. « In the meantime, different statements have already been refuted on the basis of objective evidence, » says De Clerck. « We will not conduct this process in the media, but where it belongs: in court. My client only wishes to emphasize that the contacts took place in the specific context of BDSM and he has respected the agreements and limits of the other person. We cannot get rid of the impression that the accusations are framed. »
For a long time, the women wondered if they were right to speak, since they initially agreed to BDSM activities with the man. Professor of Sexual Criminal Law Liesbet Stevens (KU Leuven) points out that since 2022 the law has been even more clearly defined, and that every individual sexual action requires permission, which can even be withdrawn during the action. In the BDSM atmosphere, a great deal of value is also attached to the explicit of permission, it sounds.
