A 78-year-old man from Antwerp has been handed a suspended prison sentence of ten months and a €1,600 fine for stalking top Belgian footballer Kevin De Bruyne and a woman with a connective tissue disease.
The Hasselt criminal court linked the suspension to probation conditions, such as therapy for his stalking problem and an absolute ban on contact with De Bruyne and the woman for three years, Belga News Agency reported.
The man is not allowed to contact them, either in person or by phone, or by email, social media or any other form of communication. De Bruyne had not filed a claim as a civil party, while the woman was present at the trial. She was awarded €964 in damages.
The defendant was represented by lawyer Christophe Daerden, who pleaded for acquittal. The man, who described himself as a 'Health Resetter', 'Surgeon Teacher', 'Medicine Man' or 'Energetologist', claimed that he could cure De Bruyne of his injuries with his abilities.
As early as 2016, he went to De Bruyne's parents with a letter. The defendant showed up twice at De Bruyne's house in Heusden-Zolder. In addition to ringing the doorbell, he put mail in his mailbox or had it delivered several times. This happened between 1 September 2023 and 1 October 2024 and involved 14 letters in seven months.
According to the defense, there could be no question of harassment because De Bruyne usually stayed in England, but the court ruled otherwise. The defendant had reached an arrangement with Kevin De Bruyne's lawyer, but the defense did not want to say anything about that arrangement.
'He showed up at my house'
Shanna W., who suffers from a connective tissue disease, was present in court in her wheelchair. She previously made headlines because she denounced the failing healthcare system after her healthcare budget had fallen by 20%. She was also approached by the 70-year-old for healing sessions.
She was supposed to pay €500 per session, but she never paid. The woman was then bombarded with all kinds of text messages. He also showed up at her house twice.
"I had an uneasy feeling about it. I had deliberately kept my address out of the media, but he still showed up at my house," the woman said.
The defendant had already been sentenced to 30 months in prison with a suspended sentence for fraud in June 2020.
"The defendant has disturbed the civil parties in their private lives. The facts constituted a serious violation of private life", according to the criminal judge in Hasselt.
