At an appeal hearing in Den Bosch, the advocate general sought a three-year prison sentence for former Budel GP Pieter S., with one year suspended, for sexually abusing a vulnerable former patient between 2016 and 2019. The requested sentence would mean two years in prison, compared with the 15-month sentence imposed earlier. The 68-year-old doctor acknowledged the abuse and said he now understood that the relationship had not been equal. He appealed in pursuit of a lighter sentence, saying he feared imprisonment.

The advocate general said he had abused the patient's trust and gave weight to her pregnancy, which ended in a miscarriage. The patient, through Victim Support, said the appeal had affected her deeply and that she wanted peace and no further contact. The doctor can no longer be registered as a physician. His lawyer argued that a suspended sentence, community service and conditions would suffice. The court is due to rule on 13 November.