Former coach of The Voice of Holland sentenced to two years in prison for rape | Netherlands

A Dutch court has sentenced a former coach of the talent show “The Voice of Holland” to two years in prison for rape. The case caused a stir and shocked the country.

Ali B, 42, was found guilty of raping a woman named “Naomi” during a writer’s room meeting in 2018 – charges he denies.

The rapper, one of several Dutch The Voice stars accused of sexual misconduct, will appeal the verdict, his lawyer told public media outlet NOS.

The 2022 scandal was the first #MeToo wave to rock the progressive Netherlands, which has since been rocked by several more cases of sexual abuse.

Ali B was also accused by a contestant on The Voice of forcibly groping her, touching her genitals and performing sexual acts on her.

While the public prosecutor considered the woman’s allegations credible, the Dutch court dropped the charges due to lack of evidence.

The Dutch star was also convicted of attempted rape of Dutch artist Ellen ten Damme in 2014 during a stay in Morocco, where the two were recording a song for a television show.

“Ali B. seriously damaged the physical integrity of the victims through his actions,” the verdict states.

“He was guided by his own sexual needs without considering the will of the victims or the impact of his behavior on them.”

The court emphasized the “courage” of the victims given the artist’s public fame.

A series of allegations of sexual abuse have cast a shadow over the first version of a show whose basic premise – coaches on swivel chairs select contestants after listening to them sing “blind” – has been sold to 150 countries.

The allegations raised questions about how programmer and reality TV king John de Mol handled the scandal.

De Mol, who also created the reality show Big Brother, admitted that he had already known about an allegation of inappropriate messages by the bandleader of The Voice of Holland in 2019, but had done nothing. Proceedings against the musician were dropped.

The show was suspended by broadcaster RTL in 2022.

• Information and support for anyone affected by rape or sexual abuse is available from the following organisations. In the US, Rainn offers support on 800-656-4673. In the UK, Rape Crisis offers support on 0808 500 2222. In Australia, support is available on 1800Respect (1800 737 732). For more international helplines, visit ibiblio.org/rcip/internl.html