Pediatrician jailed for voyeurism and child pornography, 20 years after being caught
A 50-year-old pediatrician from Veldegem, West Flanders, is in prison on suspicion of possessing child pornography and voyeurism. The investigators tracked down the doctor after a complaint about a man who had tried to lure a boy into his car, Het Laatste Nieuws reported. Striking: the man was already caught twenty years ago in possession of child pornography, but was suspended.
The news hit like a splinter bomb in Jan DV's immediate vicinity. For them, 'Doctor Jan' is unspoken. Married, father of three children and a reputable pediatrician. He runs a practice with his wife - also a pediatrician. Recently, the doctor's wife is on her own. Her husband is imprisoned in the prison of Bruges. Patty 't Jonck of the public prosecutor's office West Flanders confirms that the man was arrested last week on suspicion of possession of child pornography and voyeurism. “Last Friday the council chamber of Bruges extended his detention by a month,” says 't Jonck.
According to multiple sources, the doctor killed himself. He is said to have tried to lure a boy into his car with candy last year. The police then started an investigation and eventually arrived at the doctor from Veldegem, a sub-municipality of Zedelgem. During a search of the house, the investigators seized, among other things, computers. These have been turned inside out in recent months and the investigators are said to have bumped into files with child pornography.
The investigators would also have secretly found recordings of patients he examined. Remarkable: well twenty years ago, Jan DV was also under investigation for possession of child pornography. The man then got the favor of the suspension. That means that the doctor admitted the facts and received no punishment in return. Legal sources confirm this, but no one wants to give details about the old and the new file. The question is how it is possible that Jan DV - despite the fact that the court considered the facts proven at the time - could continue to work as a pediatrician in the following years. Until yesterday, the Order of Physicians knew absolutely nothing about the judicial history of doctor Jan DV
CHILDREN'S HOME
The doctor couple is also welcome in Madras, a metropolis in southeastern India. The West Flemish family has had a children's home there for almost 25 years, which they visit regularly. It's kind of their life's work. There are entire photo series on Facebook where the doctor's family is welcomed with open arms by the children and the Indonesian supervisors.
The wife of the arrested doctor told earlier about how it all started. “In 1997, my husband and I did an internship at a children's hospital in South India during our studies. One day we found two neglected children tied to a tree. The children, ages four and five, were malnourished and had scars all over their bodies. We learned that the daddy was heavily addicted to alcohol and abused the children. The man said flatly that he wanted to get rid of his children. Jan and I then made the decision to take care of those children.”
Then they put their savings into a rented house. That grew into a children's home for street children from the lowest caste. They only include the worst cases: children who cannot survive on their own. They still take care of about forty children there today. “We give these children a place in our large, cozy and warm family. We also let them go to school. For example, we have a boy who will soon be graduating as a civil engineer," she said about this years ago. Recently, the doctor couple collected money for their project in India.
Jan DV would have indicated from his cell that he will stop as a pediatrician with immediate effect, regardless of the further course of the investigation. His lawyer declined to comment. “There is also such a thing as the presumption of innocence and the secrecy of the investigation,” says Stijn Leliaert.
.