The Mechelen Criminal Court found a man guilty on Wednesday of harassing his parents, handing him a one year suspended sentence. The defendant had previously been convicted three times for stalking and assaulting his parents, but continued to harass them. The man was also prosecuted for assaulting his mother, but was acquitted of those charges.
The court heard that defendant lives next door to his elderly parents, in an adjoining terraced house. He is said to struggle from a "serious alcohol problem".
“On December 21, 2023, it happened again, when he physically attacked his mother after first threatening to smash the television,” said the prosecutor. “He pushed his mother, causing her to fall and injure herself. A neighbour intervened and managed to calm the dispute, but the police were called anyway.”
A few hours later, the man lost his temper again. He rang his parents’ doorbell incessantly, trying to enter, even though his father had clearly asked him to leave them alone that evening. The police arrived and found that the man had meanwhile punched a hole in the plasterboard wall separating the two houses.
“The hole was so big he could step through it, so it certainly wasn’t a hole caused by a punch or something like that; this was done deliberately,” said the prosecutor, who requested a two-year suspended sentence.
The man requested an acquittal, but the judge found him guilty of stalking. She sentenced the defendant to one year with suspended probation. He must address his addiction and was banned from alcohol and drug use.
