The defendant Mikelson,[1] dubbed "the Monster of Riga" by the Dutch press,[2][3] had worked at several daycare centres in Amsterdam and was accused of abusing 87 children[4] as well as possession, production and distribution of child pornography.
[7] During a search of his house, computers containing a large collection of child pornography (46,803 photos and 3,672 movies, part of which had been unsuccessfully deleted during the broadcast)[6] were found and seized.
[12] According to evaluations of the Pieter Baan Centre, a forensic psychiatric observation clinic, Miķelsons is a hypersexual pedophile with a personality disorder.
According to the prosecution (Dutch: Openbaar Ministerie), Miķelsons carefully scouted his babysitting addresses for presence of heavy curtains and absence of nanny cams.
Upon the granting of the right to speak, his lawyers (Wim Anker[4] and Tjalling van der Goot)[13] requested substitution (Dutch: wraking) of the three judges, which was denied.
[17] Although Miķelsons pleaded guilty to the abuse, the defense demanded "almost full acquittal", stating that the search warrant for Mikelson and Van Olffen's house (and thus the photo and video evidence from the computers) had not been obtained correctly.
[20] The search of the house of the defendants (in which the photographic evidence was seized) was deemed admissible and the judges considered the psychiatric evaluation in which Miķelsons was diminished responsibility asserted (a requirement for involuntary commitment) reliable.
[26] Miķelsons appealed the judgement to the Supreme Court of the Netherlands (Hoge Raad) in a cassation procedure, in which he is represented by Dirk Daamen.
[29] The public prosecution also stated during the case that the events shocked Dutch society and that it would therefore not be justified to request a lesser sentence than the 20 years demanded.
[30] The case has also had effects on male preschool professionals: according to an evaluation by the news agency NOS[31] and the Belangenvereniging van ouders in de kinderopvang en peuterspeelzalen (Boink) (English: Organization for parents in child care and day care),[32] tens of men have quit or have been fired as a result of changed public opinion towards men in the field, including negative reactions of parents.
According to the Amsterdam police, the investigation of leads found on Miķelsons' computer has led, worldwide, to the arrests of 43 suspected child molesters.