In his podcast SEXTORTION, Lars van Eijden investigates the court case against his friend Mark S. 

'With the growing problem of sextortion, it might be good to hear the story from the inside, rather than from experts, lawyers, and the Public Prosecution Service.” – Lars van Eijden

What if a friend of yours was arrested out of the blue? A friend with whom you played FIFA for nights on end, talked about girls, went to school with, and sat next to in the stands. And that friend is suspected of sextortion. This happened to podcast maker Lars van Eijden. He is accused of crimes such as rape, extortion, sexual abuse of minors, and money laundering. The case concerns Mark S., who until 2024 was a perfectly normal man from Borculo.

In early February, the team attends the trial against Mark S. and sees him again after two years. Not as a friend, but as a podcast creator. Together with colleague Rick Uilenbroek and criminal lawyer Christian Visser, he has been investigating this case intensively over the past year. The team reconstructed how Mark S. was able to operate unseen for thirteen years and seemingly lead a normal life. “Over the past year, we have delved into this case and we have been shocked time and time again,” says Van Eijden.

For the podcast, they spoke with victims, lawyers, and the authorities involved. They also spoke with former friends of Mark S., who, like Lars, ask themselves the same confronting question: could we have known?

SEXTORTION is a podcast by Audiohuis. The first two episodes have been available since January 22, two weeks before the first day of the trial. Episode 3 will be released on Thursday, January 29, and new episodes will follow during the trial, focusing on the criminal proceedings and their impact.