Popular Flemish YouTuber Acid has been convicted by a court in Bruges for leaking the names of the Reuzegom student club members who were implicated in the death of Sanda Dia, who died during an initiation ritual to join the group.
The 24-year-old YouTuber, whose real name is Nathan Vandergunst, had on 31 May made a video in which he disclosed the names and faces of the 18 Reuzegommers who organised the hazing ritual which led to the death of 20-year-old Sanda Dia shortly after their conviction.
All perpertrators avoided prison and were instead sentenced to up to 300 hours of community service and handed a €400 fine, a punishment that was heavily criticised by many, including Vandergunst, who believed it was far too light. The former president of the group, who was mentioned in the video despite not being part of the hazing, decided to sue him.
On Thursday, the correctional court found Vandergunst guilty of stalking by making public a video message that involved online shaming and doxing (putting personal data online without permission as revenge). The verdict noted that he said he aimed to "expose people, how dark they are and what they are doing now", setting the tone for a "tirade that could be considered online shaming".
The judge stressed that the defendant was "perfectly capable" of raising the trial without spreading personal data and also pointed out that online videos continue to resurface even when the original is taken offline. "This means they remain public in the long run and (can be) viewed by massive numbers of viewers. Therein lies precisely the extremely harmful and malicious nature of such video messages that continue to cause victims new harm."
'Proud of what I did'
A community service order, which was the favoured punishment in the eyes of the judge, could not be imposed as Vandergunst did not agree to it. He has instead been handed a three-month suspended prison sentence, as well as a fine of €800.
He also has to pay provisional damages of €20,000, including to a restaurant owned by a former member, as it was targeted by an "outright defamation campaign" after the video was published, which included "an avalanche of false, defamatory reviews, fake reservations, hate emails and phone calls".
Vandergunst stressed that the punishment is tougher than the one awarded to any of the Reuzegommers. "This conviction goes on my criminal record," he said according to reports from Gazet van Antwerpen. "There is now a prison sentence on it, fortunately with a reprieve, but the criminal record of Reuzegommers is still blank."
He said the incident was terrible, and that he would carry it with him for the rest of my life, but added that he was proud of what he had done. Regarding the large sum in provisional damages, Vandergunst said he would have preferred to see the money go to the bank account of Dia's family.
"But money always wins in Belgium," he noted, referring to the statement made after the Reuzegom trial ended that class justice was at play as all young men involved were sons of lawyers, entrepreneurs and a judge. Vandergunst is not yet sure whether he will appeal the conviction.
