Man (50) Faces 5 Years for Family Terror in Roeselare

A 50-year-old man from Roeselare in West Flanders faces up to five years in prison for years of systematic domestic terror against his family. The case, heard Tuesday in the correctional court of Kortrijk, saw the public prosecutor demand an effective prison sentence of five years for charges including years of rape, assault, stalking, hacking, and threats, as Het Laatste Nieuws reported.

The couple had been together for 14 years when the situation came to a head on November 9, 2025. On that day, the couple’s children sent a ‘help’ message via Snapchat to their grandparents after hearing their mother being assaulted in the storage room of the family home. The day before, the man had allegedly forced his wife to perform oral sex in a swimming pool cabin while the children were in the adjacent cabin. Police arrived at the home following the emergency signal, and the woman opened the door emotionally after receiving the key from her husband.

A Pattern of Control and Abuse

According to the public prosecutor, the man sexually abused his wife for eight years. The abuse was accompanied by physical violence and threats, including chilling statements such as “Stop crying or I’ll f*** you all night long.” The couple’s teenage children testified to investigators, saying: “Dad grabbed mom hard and hit her. He hid phones.” They also described hearing their mother scream “stop, stop, stop,” noting that she was scared and didn’t dare say much.

The victim’s lawyer, Michiel Van Eeckhoutte, painted a picture of total control. “He first isolated her from friends and family. He had total control over his family,” Van Eeckhoutte said. “There were trackers in her phone, her iPad, and her car. He knew all the codes. She had to hand over her identity documents, was locked in the home, which was full of cameras.” The lawyer described the man as “incorrigible and self-centered,” adding that there were “no words for such psychopathic behavior.”

The couple’s 10-year-old autistic son was also subjected to abuse, with the man occasionally taping the boy’s mouth shut with duct tape. The public prosecutor noted that the woman sometimes pretended to enjoy the sexual acts to get them over with quickly and prevent worse. According to a forensic psychologist, the accused sees himself as a victim and is narcissistic, with a very high risk of new partner violence.

The Victim’s Statement

In a powerful courtroom statement, the victim addressed her ex-husband directly. “I’m not afraid anymore,” she said. “For years you tried to break me. I lost myself bit by bit. I lived the last year in a prison, but you didn’t break me. I take my voice back and deserve, together with my children, a life without fear. Although the traumas will remain for the rest of our lives. The consequences are still felt every day. But I am free, strong, and happy. I have taken my life back into my own hands and I will never let you have power over me again.”

The man, who has been in pre-trial detention for nine months, denies the rape charges. “It’s pure nonsense that I forced her to have sex for 8 years,” he said. “I am speechless, still in shock after reading what was said in the file. That’s not who I am.” He acknowledged being wrong to push her once or put tape on their son’s mouth, saying he didn’t always know how to deal with his son’s autism. “I am a good dad,” he insisted.

His lawyer, Kris Vincke, argued that the cameras in the home were installed not to control the wife but because of the issues with the autistic son. He requested a sentence with supervisory conditions, saying the man hopes to one day fulfill his role as father again.

A Broader Crisis

The case highlights a broader crisis of domestic violence in Belgium. In 2025, public prosecutors opened 67,583 partner violence files — an average of 185 per day, according to VRT NWS. The number of partner violence files increased by 20 percent between 2021 and 2025. In 2024, there were nearly 67,000 cases of intrafamilial violence — about 184 per day, as VRT NWS reported. More than half of these files were closed without prosecution.

The number of temporary home bans doubled from 438 in 2021 to 926 in 2025, and about 30 women are killed by partners or ex-partners each year in Belgium. The ‘femicide law,’ in effect since October 2024, aims to better prevent and combat femicide and gender-related killings.

The Roeselare area has seen multiple domestic violence cases in the Kortrijk court. In a related case, a 58-year-old man from Roeselare was recently convicted for repeated partner violence and sentenced to one year in prison with suspension, with strict conditions including alcohol treatment, as Het Laatste Nieuws reported.

What’s Next

The couple is now divorced. The verdict in this case is scheduled for August 19, 2026. The public prosecutor argued that court conditions would be insufficient given the man’s lack of guilt feelings and empathy, emphasizing the high risk of reoffending. The victim’s lawyer expressed concern that after his release, the man will undoubtedly want revenge.