Dutch law enforcement has taken to social media to urge unreported victims of a brutal, transnational sextortion ring to come forward, after a 22-year-old local man went on trial this week for orchestrating a campaign that left dozens of women and girls coerced into committing degrading, violent sexual acts on camera.
The suspect, identified only as Damian A. in line with Dutch privacy regulations, crafted a deceptive online persona posing as a teenage girl to lure targets on widely used social and messaging platforms. His MO followed a chilling pattern: he first convinced victims to share explicit personal photos, then leveraged that material as blackmail. Under threat to distribute the private images to the victims’ friends, family members, and classmates, he forced them to create increasingly graphic, sadistic content—including forced self-directed sexual abuse and orders to lick public toilet seats. Some victims were even coerced into writing or holding signs reading “Owned by Turpien”, the suspect’s reported online alias, effectively branding themselves in the imagery that would later be exploited for profit.
Damian A. was first taken into custody in January 2025, and his trial opened this week in the Dutch city of Dordrecht. Court documents confirm the suspect has confessed to the charges, which include counts of online sexual assault and online rape. Prosecutors have formally requested a nine-year prison sentence alongside court-mandated psychological treatment. In remarks reported by local Dutch media, Damian A. told the court, “I didn’t think about the consequences. That you can hurt people.” A final verdict from the court is expected within the coming weeks.
The international scale of the abuse only came to light after a group of young women in the United States reported their exploitation to authorities, sparking a cross-border investigation that led investigators to Damian A. One high-profile case in the Netherlands involved a schoolgirl who was ordered to skip class and send a nude photo to the suspect within 10 minutes, or face having her existing explicit images sent to all her classmates. Rotterdam Police’s Sexual Crimes Team has described the harm inflicted as catastrophic, with the suspect turning his victims’ daily lives into “a living hell.”
Beyond blackmail, Damian A. is alleged to have sold the abusive, explicit content on third-party platforms, extending the harm far beyond the initial coercion, and even shared the victims’ private personal data with other bad actors. To date, investigators have positively identified more than 50 victims across six countries: the Netherlands, the United Kingdom, the United States, Canada, Germany, and Montenegro. But law enforcement stressed that this number is almost certainly a fraction of the true total, as many victims remain too afraid or ashamed to come forward.
Milou van der Kolk, a member of the Rotterdam Police Sexual Crimes Team, emphasized the urgency of the public appeal. “We are very worried because what these girls have had to endure is so extreme and so intense, and we know that there are more girls but we don’t know who they are,” she said.
The ongoing social media campaign by Dutch police serves three core goals: to identify additional unreported victims, to reassure existing survivors that the suspect is in custody and cannot contact them, and to encourage caregivers and parents to have open conversations with young people about the dangers of sharing intimate imagery online. All police posts include direct links and contact information for free, confidential victim support services.
Authorities explained that many victims of this type of online abuse grapple with overwhelming isolation, chronic stress, and feelings of hopelessness. Because the shame, fear, and despair caused by sextortion can be so debilitating, professional support is not just helpful—it can be life-saving. The case also highlights a growing, underrecognized threat: how a single offender with just a smartphone can exert total, terrifying control over young victims in the privacy of their own homes, turning everyday social media platforms into tools of intimidation, abuse, and exploitation while the adults in their lives remain completely unaware of the harm taking place.
Police have also issued a separate warning to any individual who purchased or shared the abusive content: all such material must be deleted immediately, as investigators have confirmed that a permanent digital trail exists to trace activity. The suspect’s actions are part of a sharply rising global trend of sextortion: in the Netherlands alone, police recorded roughly 3,000 sextortion cases in 2025, marking a 46% jump from the previous year.
Any individuals who have experienced online sexual abuse can access confidential support resources through the BBC Action Line.