A prominent LGBT activist and former member of Dutch Parliament has filed multiple defamation claims against his critics despite resigning amid accusations he sexually abused multiple young boys. Sidney Smeets, formerly an elected Member of Parliament for the Democrats 66 (D66) party, had also come under fire for defending men involved in a pro-pedophile organization whose leaders have since been jailed for sex crimes.
On November 29, medical professional Jan B. Hommel stated that he had been notified of a legal complaint lodged against him by Smeets for a prior comment he made on social media calling the former MP a “pedophile.”
Hommel defended his use of the term, citing “testimonials from various boys, as have been frequently reported in various media,” referring to allegations of child sexual abuse made against Smeets in early 2021 which ultimately led to his decision to step down from his role in parliament.
In addition to Hommel, social commentator Sander van Dam stated that he had received a phone call from the police in regards to calling Smeets a “groomer.”
“Just received a call from the police who told me that I can soon expect a summons from the Public Prosecution Service regarding a report that Sidney Smeets has filed against me. They have time for that. What a country,” van Dam wrote.
Former Rotterdam district councilor Rick Timmer was also made to defend himself in court in December of last year for calling Smeets a ‘kleuterneuker,’ which roughly translates in English to ‘toddler-fucker.’ In March 2023, Timmer was ordered to pay a fine of €750 ($816).
Smeets first resigned from his position representing D66 in April of 2021 following allegations that he had been sexually inappropriate with “dozens” of boys.
A social media post which kicked off the controversy was made by a 17-year-old claiming to be speaking up on behalf of the victims. He stated that Smeets would “often reach out to underage boys” on X (formerly Twitter), and said that he had known “dozens of boys” who had been approached by him in a sexual capacity. The teen further lamented the fact that Smeets, who he called a “pedo,” was representing “LGBTI rights” in a position of authority.
One of the victims told Hart van Nederland that he was 16 years old when he connected with Smeets on gay hook-up app Grindr. The boy had told Smeets that he was a minor, and the lawyer invited him to to his home. “He was quite direct and soon started kissing me and leading my head to his dick,” he told the newspaper. “I sucked him and I was outside again soon.”
The unnamed victim said that Smeets also shared photos of underage boys with him, and told the teen that it was his “worst fantasy” to have sex with someone under the age of 16. According to the victim, Smeets inquired as to whether he knew anyone “under 16” that the teen “trusts.”
Another victim who spoke to the press described a similar pattern: he met Smeets through Grindr, and accepted the invitation to his home on multiple occasions, where Smeets would show him pornography to “get [him] in the mood.” On one occasion the boy, then 16, says he was pressured into performing sexual acts.
“Several people state that they have experienced contact with me as undesirable… I was very shocked about that, because it was never my intention,” Smeets said in a statement publicly announcing his resignation in April 2021. He did not deny the allegations, but said he was stepping down “to prevent the prestige of the House and the interest of the party from being harmed.”
In addition to being accused of grooming and child sexual abuse, Smeets has a history of defending a notorious pro-pedophile activist group. In 2014, Smeets was one of several signatories to a public appeal requesting that Vereniging MARTIJN be permitted to continue their pro-pedophilia advocacy. However, in April that year the Supreme Court banned the organization.
Smeets also spoke in defense of the group’s leader, Marthijn Uittenbogaard, in 2021. Uittenbogaard was charged with a criminal offense after he was found to be disregarding court orders by continuing Vereniging MARTIJN despite its official annulment. Smeets argued that Uittenbogaard was distributing pro-pedophilia materials on his own behalf as an individual rather than as a representative of the organization.
In 2022, Uittenbogaard and associate Norbert de Jonge were handed brief prison sentences for continuing the “activities of the banned association Martijn” by placing publications on various websites and making statements in favor of “pedosexuality” via a mailing list and on X (formerly Twitter). While released on appeal of his six-month prison sentence, Uittenbogaard fled the Netherlands.
Both Uittenbogaard and and his husband Lesley Luijs were detained in Ecuador, where they had been luring children to their hotel in order to sexually abuse them. The men were sentenced to ten years in prison by Ecuadorian authorities earlier this year.
The disgraced former MP additionally acted as a legal representative for a prominent member of Vereniging MARTIJN in 2020. Nelson Maatman was arrested in February that year on charges related to the possession of child pornography. According to the Public Prosecution Service, more than 10,000 images depicting minors in a sexual context were found on Maatman’s devices.
“You can make moral judgements about that, but you have to wonder whether it is child pornography. The Public Prosecution Service says so, but it is clear that this man was not looking for child pornography,” said Smeets in defense of Maatman.
At the time, critics on social media noted that Smeets had been interacting with Maatman on Facebook, where he had been “liking” his posts.
Maatman would later be detained in Mexico after allegedly attempting to arrange for the purchase of a child. Maatman was arrested in Mexico City on June 5, after an anonymous tip was handed to the Mexican prosecutor’s office indicating that he intended to purchase an adolescent and sell child sexual exploitation material.
Upon arrest, police found Maatman in possession of 4 terabytes (4000GB) of child sexual abuse material across a number of external storage devices. Maatman also had photos of children in his clothing pocket, a weapon, and drugs.
The party for which Smeets was previously a representative, D66, actively promotes the concept of “gender identity” and was involved in drafting a proposed sex self-identification legislation in May 2021.
The proposal would allow teenagers, beginning from 16 years old, to change the sex marker on their birth certificate. On social media, Smeets has repeatedly stated his support for gender identity ideology, by posting photos of the transgender pride flag, for instance, or sharing videos of clownfish.
Smeets has also expressed derision at women who oppose gender identity ideology, branding them “evil” and “sickening” TERFs, an acronym meaning “Trans Exclusionary Radical Feminists,” used in an attempt to discredit opponents or to advocate for violence against them.
In June, Smeets showed his support for a controversial animated video released by Oxfam designed to celebrate Pride month. The promotional video appeared to depict a version of renowned author JK Rowling, with red eyes and a snarl, wearing a badge that read “TERF.”
He also hurled the term at outspoken Dutch women’s rights advocate Lydia Daniel, who has become a target for trans activists and is awaiting confirmation of whether she will face charges in response to a hate speech report filed against her by a trans-identified male for stating “a woman is an adult human female.” Daniel attracted Smeet’s ire after she protested during a public meeting of the Dutch Democratic Party (D66) in May and challenged the party’s leader, Sigrid Kaag, on whether she was aware that “women’s rights are being destroyed.”
Earlier this year, D66 came under fire after it was discovered that the official website for the Young Democrats, the “independent” youth wing of the political group, had published statements sympathetic to pedophilia which endorsed the production of “virtual child pornography,” and even the teaching of pedophilia as a sexuality in schools.
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