Alea iacta est, the die is cast. Youtuber Acid will not appeal. On February 22, the Bruges judge gave him a three-month suspended prison sentence, a fine of 800 euros and had to pay provisional compensation of 20,000 euros for harassment because he mentioned the names of a Reuzegommer and his parents’ restaurant. Like any other convict, Acid was then given thirty days to appeal. Today was the last day and the decision has been made: no appeal. But will the crowdfunding that was set up for him now be enough to pay the damages?
LOOK. This is why Acid decided not to appeal: “We had already won”
Nathan Vandergunst (24), the real name of YouTuber Acid, definitively accepts the sentence he received in the criminal court in Bruges. On the one hand, this means that he will now have to go through life with a criminal record. On the other hand, it also means that he must pay the compensation to the other party. A provisional sum for the loss of turnover of a restaurant, run by the parents of an ex-Reuzegommer, which he targeted: 20,000 euros. The company auditor now has a few months to determine the final amount. That will undoubtedly be a lot higher.
Acid and his lawyer Walter Van Steenbrugge had a digital consultation this afternoon. The goal: to tune the violins one last time. The two were not exactly on the same page. Master Van Steenbrugge was already fully committed to the acquittal of his client in Bruges. He therefore thinks appealing is a logical choice. But Acid himself feels less strongly about this and believes that “his point has now been made”.
Video
After the conversation between the two, our editors asked Van Steenbrugge about the decision. But the answer is clear: “Acid still communicates via its own channel today. No other communication is given.” And so, after his digital consultation, Acid crawls behind his computer in his room in Blankenberge to record a new video. “It’s time to stop everything here. I’ve had shit going on in my head for the last few weeks and I haven’t been sleeping well, because that’s literally all I’ve been thinking about: do I continue or do I stop here and accept the punishment they have given me? in there.
“I’m going to accept it, I don’t want to continue with this,” he says. Acid maintains that he was wrongly convicted, but maintains that he has indeed won in the eyes of public opinion. I did what we all thought, and that has been reflected in so many things,” said Acid. “The only thing I still needed to hear has happened: Sanda Dia’s dad and his wife told me that they liked it what I have done, and that they feel very supported by all of us. I do not feel like a criminal, I am not guilty, like the people who accused me. I have no blood on my hands, I have done nothing wrong.”
According to Acid, Van Steenbrugge wanted to continue to conduct his own defense for free, because he was so convinced of the injustice that had happened to his client. “But I have lost all hope in our constitutional state. I don’t need to hear from them anymore that I didn’t do anything wrong, I know I didn’t do anything wrong.”
(Read more below the photo)
No community service, but conviction
Acid – although in court he is simply Mr. Vandergunst – had to answer for harassment. He made a video after the trial surrounding the death of Sanda Dia during a baptism of student club Reuzegom. “We’re going people exhibit”, it sounded then. In the video that followed, he mentioned several Reuzegommers by name. Including an ex-member who was not involved in the fatal baptism. And Acid also mentioned his parents’ restaurant in Antwerp in the same breath. The result: false reservations and negative reviews online.
Ultimately, it was those parents who took Acid directly to court. Fans skipped school and came from all over the country to support their great hero Acid in court. The YouTuber was confident and convinced that he would not be punished. A community service order? None of that, that was something for Reuzegommers. He just wanted the acquittal, without further ado.
But on February 22, the restaurateurs were proven right. The judge ruled that there was indeed a case of harassment. Acid was therefore sentenced: a suspended prison sentence of three months and a fine of 800 euros. But the most important thing: a conditional compensation of 20,000 euros for the loss suffered by the restaurant operators. A company auditor still has to calculate the final amount – which may be much higher.
Crowdfunding of 175,000 euros
It was a visibly upset Acid who left the court after the verdict. “Isn’t that acquittal almost certain?” You could almost see him thinking it. But he did walk out of the courthouse with a criminal record. How was he going to pay that high compensation? Although there seemed to be a solution for this quickly: crowdfunding raised 175,000 euros. The collection campaign ends tonight, after which the money will be placed in a trust account pending the final estimate of the compensation. Acid will donate what remains to the charity of Sanda Dia’s father, he repeats in his video.
Watch the full video Acid shared on YouTube below:
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Tags: Youtuber Acid appeal conviction hope rule law lost Domestic
