A Dutch court on Tuesday jailed an Austrian handyman for helping a cult leader to isolate his own children on a farm for a decade, in a case that shocked the Netherlands.

The man, identified only as 61-year-old Joseph B. due to Dutch privacy rules, played an ‘essential role’ in depriving the six children of their liberty in the remote northeastern village of Ruinerwold, the court ruled, jailing him for three years.

The Austrian was a ‘disciple’ of the children’s father Gerrit Jan van Dorsten, buying groceries and renting the farm where van Dorsten believed he was readying his children for a new world called Eden.

‘The defendant played an essential role, and without his contribution it would not have been possible for the father to allow the children to live isolated from society for such a long period,’ the court in the northern city of Assen said.

Judges acquitted Joseph B. of detaining three older children, and of abusing any of van Dorsten’s children.

But he was also convicted of detaining another Austrian man who was a follower of the father and hanging him up in a shack for several weeks in 2009.

The father, who was accused of detaining, assaulting and abusing his children, was ruled unfit to stand trial last year after suffering a debilitating stroke.

The Austrian was a ‘disciple’ of the children’s father Gerrit Jan van Dorsten, buying groceries and renting the farm (pictured) where van Dorsten believed he was readying his children for a new world called Eden

The ‘space’ had daylight coming into it and the children were occasionally allowed outside, but never further than the farm’s perimeter fence

Gerrit Jan van Dorsten is pictured in the farmhouse grounds, 60 miles north of Amsterdam. He was arrested on suspicion of deprivation of liberty among other charges, but suffered a stroke and had the court case against him dropped

Six adult children – four women and two men, including Jan Zon van Dorsten (pictured) – were held prisoner at a Dutch farm for nine years

Pictured: Cafe De Kastelein in Ruinerwold where Jan Zon van Dorsten raised the alarm

Police arrested van Dorsten and Joseph B. in October 2019 after the eldest child walked into a local bar in a confused state and raised the alarm.

The children eventually revealed that their father had isolated them at the farmhouse from birth and beaten them from a young age to drive out ‘bad spirits’.

The father saw himself as a new Messiah and ‘saw it as his task to found a new society called Eden according to the rules of God,’ the court ruling said.

Joseph B. had found the farm in Ruinerwold, rented it in his name and renovated it with van Dorsten so that the family could live there in isolation, the court said.

He also ensured that money transferred from Austria went to the father and took care of daily groceries, even after van Dorsten’s stroke in 2016.

He had a ‘different role’ to the father but there was ‘sufficiently close and conscious cooperation’ between them to show that he was also guilty, the court ruled.

The case of the so-called Ruinerwold Children stunned the Netherlands and sparked an award-winning documentary.

The six children who were kept on the farm are now all young adults.

But relatives of van Dorsten in 2019 revealed three older siblings had already fled left the family’s isolated life before the father bought the farm and held the remaining six children captive.

Their statement added that van Dorsten told his family to ‘not make any attempt to find his place of residence’ when the relative parted ways decades ago.

According to the NL Times, the family said: ‘The family has taken notice of the events in Ruinerwold with dismay. In the past few days a family member informed us of the identity of the family found.

‘Gerrit Jan van Dorsten broke all ties with his immediate family in the 1980s. He told us not to make any attempt to find his place of residence.

‘Eight years ago, three children of Gerrit Jan van Dorsten fled the family in Hasselt and contacted their brother from a previous marriage, grandparents, uncles, aunts, cousins. The family has since remained unaware of the existence of other children.’

Janny Knol, chief of the north Netherlands police, said in 2019 that the children were kept as an ‘enclosed space’ within the farm building which was divided ‘into small compartments.’

Ms Knol said the siblings – four women and two men – were largely kept inside the space but were occasionally allowed out into the yard, though no further than the farm’s perimeter fence.

Dutch police probing the case of a family who were locked away on an isolated farm for nine years. Prosecutors said the three oldest children were not allowed to talk about the existence of their brothers and sisters

Van Dorsten (pictured) posted videos on Facebook showing him working out in the garden

She said they appeared to be aged between 18 and 25, though that is not certain because they were not registered with authorities. They had not received any formal schooling, but were able to read and write Dutch.

In 2021, a court ruled that a 2016 stroke had so badly affected the father’s ability to communicate and comprehend that continuing with the case would breach his fair trial rights.

Corinne Jeekel, a lawyer representing the eldest four children, told Dutch broadcaster NOS that they were disappointed with the decision.

‘It is a great shame for the clients that there will be no criminal judgment’, Jeekel told national broadcaster NOS in March 2021.

The rest of the family, however, stood by their father.

‘The youngest five children are very happy,’ defense lawyer Robert Snorn told local broadcaster RTV Drenthe.

Prosecutors said at the time that the children are free to choose their own futures, even if that means returning to a life of isolation.

‘In the past 18 months, the children have got to know our society, have been able to participate in it and have received spiritual and medical care,’ prosecutors said in a statement.

‘If, now that they have been able to taste the alternative, they nevertheless choose to want to live in seclusion with their father again, to exercise their faith… that is their choice.’

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Viewers from all over the world responded to this San Francisco couple’s story. Many could not believe a city would threaten a huge penalty for parking in their own driveway. Many offered to help prove it was a historic use – and then – the proof they needed came from an amazing source.

“It just seems wrong.”

Judy and Ed Craine had been parking in the carpad of their San Francisco cottage for 36 years… when suddenly the Planning Department said it’s illegal.

RELATED: CA couple allowed to park in their driveway again after threatened with $1.5K fine from city

They had to remove the car or face a huge penalty: $1,542 plus $250 for every day they parked there.

“I said what, that’s crazy,” Ed said.

So they quickly pulled the car out – but it made no sense.

“Why are you taking away something that has great utility?” Ed asked. “To all of a sudden to be told you can’t use something that we could use for years. It’s, it’s startling.”

The city planning code makes it illegal to park in the setback of a home to prevent front yards from becoming unsightly parking lots.

However, if they could prove cars were parked there before the law was passed in 1978, they might get a waiver.

RELATED: Chicago makes more drivers pay speed camera, red light camera tickets gotten by thieves, they say

“We could be grandfathered in. If we show them a historical photo that showed a car… or a horse-drawn buggy in the carport,” Judy said.

“I did a number of online searches, Ed said, “checked historical resources,.”

But finding a historic photo of their exact driveway seemed impossible. Until Ed found an aerial photo from 1938. Zooming in showed their exact house. Ed saw a black shape he figured must be a car, pulling into what he figured must be the driveway.
.

“Here’s our house…” Ed said. “This black blob looks like it’s pulling into our house… to me it’s very compelling that was a car.”

But city planners said the photo was too fuzzy – not clear evidence.

However, after ABC 7 aired the story, the couple was flooded with offers of help (as well as commentary about way-out San Francisco).

And then, a gift from the sky.

“I happened to be watching Channel Seven, Michael Finney, and I saw this couple who was in a really tough spot…” said David Rui. He manages the aerial photo collection at Pacific Aerial Surveys of Novato in Marin County, which has millions of photos from its flights across the Bay Area dating all the way back to 1928. Ruiz saw our story and knew he could help Ed and Judy.

“I just simply went through our flight database and found numerous flights and was able to pull out some photography,” he said.

Ruiz used mapping coordinates to locate their house among maps in the company database. He found two aerial photos of what appears to be a car in their driveway; the clearest was a photo from 1958.

Ruiz said the company flew over most of the Bay Area once every three years including this neighborhood. “The question is, is there a car in the driveway at the moment we fly over,” Ruiz said. Most people were at work with their cars when Pacific Aerial Services was flying overhead, reducing the chances of catching a car in the driveway .

He did find two of them — 1958 and 1955. .

“So April 23, 1958,” Ruiz said, pointing to an aerial photo taken with a film camera in a plane flying 6000 feet overhead. Ruiz said he’s able to enhance the photos with 3-D imagery and other tools. He’s trained to look for indicators it’s a real vehicle, such as shadows, context and dimension.

“And here’s the house in question, And right here is a nice car, parked right there.”

He pointed to an image that looked like it could be a 1950s automobile. it was a snapshot in time, a view that went back in time. The viewer is transported to that moment in that time. “It definitely looks like a nice big American sedan, doesn’t it?” Ruiz said.

“This is all film-based. We had a plane flying overhead, it’s flying at 6,000 feet, took this wonderful photo that you can enlarge,” he said.

It is crystal clear to Ruiz – as it just so happens Ruiz is an expert trained during his Army career to analyze aerial images – especially cars.

“As an imagery analyst from the Army, one of my specialties is identifying vehicles,” he said.

And so the black blob Ed Craine found? The planning department wouldn’t accept it. But Ruiz says that blob was, indeed, a car.

He showed 7 On Your Side a clearer copy of that photo.

“It verifies that this is a vehicle, that there’s height… so I told them that there’s no doubt in my mind as an expert that this is a vehicle and if they needed me to, to write a report or testify to that I could do that,” Ruiz said.

The Craines showed the city that 1958 photo.

And it did the trick.

The city said it is now a legal parking space — grandfathered in.

Ed and Judy, who didn’t want to go on camera, said: “We are delighted we are able to park in our driveway again.”

Thanks in large part to David Ruiz.

“I’m glad it helped them out. They seemed like wonderful people that were just in a tough spot,” he said.

Major help also came from a neighbor who rummaged through old boxes and found a 1972 photo showing a car in their driveway. Others in the neighborhood also got violation notices for parking in their driveways. All came from anonymous complaints. If that’s you, let 7 On Your Side know about it.

Take a look at more stories and videos by Michael Finney and 7 On Your Side.

Have a question for Michael and the 7 On Your Side team? Fill out the form HERE!
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New Miami Dolphins coach Mike McDaniel quickly ascended to his first NFL head coaching job. And Peter King wrote in Football Morning in America that McDaniel owes some of that success to the leap made by Deebo Samuel.

“The story of the new Miami Dolphins coach is actually a story about Deebo Samuel,” King wrote. “How McDaniel, the 5-9, 165-pound former Yale wide receiver, climbed the ladder from unpaid coaching staff intern/gopher in Denver in 2005 to the exclusive 32-coach fraternity is instructive. In fact, it says everything about McDaniel, who looks far more like a Geico account executive than one of 32 NFL leaders of men.”

McDaniel took the story from there.

“So,” McDaniel began, “Deebo. we [the 49ers coaching staff] had him on our team at the Senior Bowl the January before we got to the Super Bowl. We had a saying: From Mobile to Miami, because the Super Bowl was in Miami that year, with our players. And we actually did it. He started calling me his favorite coach then. I don’t really know why. We were always close and whatever.

“This past season, I had a talk with him in the offseason. I was meeting with Brandon Aiyuk and Deebo at 6 am every day during training camp because we needed them to step up. I asked Deebo, ‘Are you the best player on the offense?’ He was like, ‘Yeah.’ I said, ‘The time is now. Do you really want to be great? Greatness is hard. That’s why it’s great. It’s not easy. It’s a burden, really.'”

Samuel fared well with that burden, putting up a career year and turning into one of the NFL’s most dangerous all-purpose threats. He caught 77 passes for 1,405 yards and six touchdowns, all of which would have been enough for a terrific season, except that he also added 59 carries for 365 yards (6.2 yards per rush) and eight scores on the ground.

McDaniel said on The Dan Le Batard Show with Stugotz that he hopes to tap into similar potential in Dolphins wideout and former Alabama star Jaylen Waddle.

Get the fastest scores, stats, news, LIVE videos, and more. CLICK HERE to download the CBS Sports Mobile App and get the latest on your team today.

“Waddle!” McDaniel said, when asked which player other than quarterback Tua Tagovailoa that he could get the most out of. “I just talked with him on Monday, and I think he understands his leadership role on this team. He’s a phenomenal talent, and guess what, the best and easiest way to get yards is give it to a really talented player. The 49ers, the last four or five years, have led the league in YAC. The reason is because we were addicted to getting our skill position players that are good with running the ball the ball. So yes, I would start him in fantasy. Beyond that, I think you should see some jumps in the Miami Dolphins’ offense next year. What those look like will be determined this offseason and the way the players work and attack things moving forward.”

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Like most good stories, this one starts in a dive bar.

“It was 2019, I happened to be in Oakland and there was this girl,” Brandon Hinke tells me on the phone. “I knew her through a friend of a friend, so we met at this pub called The Avenue, a Halloween bar in Oakland. And when I walked in they had John Carpenter’s ‘The Thing’ on one TV and John Carpenter’s ‘Halloween’ on the other, and I just thought, ‘This place is perfect’. “

The date went so well that they decided to continue it long distance, taking turns flying between Hinke’s Washington, DC apartment and his girlfriend’s home in Oakland before they eventually met and moved in together halfway in Chicago. That was March 2020, and you probably know what happened next.

“So we moved to Chicago and just assumed there would be no problems or A GLOBAL PANDEMIC, but then there was and the job I started failed instantly and I was in a city I had never been to worked a lot, ”he says. “So I started driving around aimlessly and came across this place, the Windy City Lounge.”

He tweeted a picture of it on a Monday in June 2020 with this: “Saw this place today, when he was out today, and that’s like the platonic idea” [sic] how a bar should look. “

The photo went viral almost immediately, and then something unexpected happened – everyone started responding with pictures from other dives.

“I just knew I should do something with it,” he says. “We are not homesick, we are sick with cash.”

So he created a Twitter account: Pictures of Dives (@PicturesofDives).

“I created the account the same day.”

:::

Sometime last fall, I found Pictures of Dives.

“Midnite Mine – Fairbanks, Alaska,” read the tweet with two accompanying images.

The first is an exterior shot of a stucco and brick building with an awning that simply says “Cocktails” on the side and a billboard directing people to park on the perfectly named Dunkel Street. One window on the outside is protected by a mesh made of reinforcing bars.

Midnite Mine – Fairbanks, Alaska: pic.twitter.com/RUVcBaH1Mi

– Pictures from dives (@picturesofdives) August 28, 2020

The second is an indoor shot of gray concrete walls covered in chalk messages with an “Old No. 7 ”neon sign on the back wall and two blurry dogs walking past a row of bar stools. There is a longneck on the corner of the bar that I bet didn’t cost more than a few dollars, and the lighting there could best be described as “bad.”

I go deep into an internet rabbit hole and find it has been there since the 1960s, owned by a man named Bob Maloney for 45 years, and aimed at pipeline workers and coal miners. It’s exactly the kind of bar I’d love to have a beer in right now.

Since then, I’ve spent hours flipping through pictures of dives, scrolling through hundreds of bars, and stopping at the really special looking ones – in cities I never thought I’d visit – to do similar internet research. Some of them have closed forever, others have been sold to new owners, but most of them are still there – their sticky floors and sticker-covered bathrooms await our return.

And that’s enough for me for the last 14 months.

Thumb – Ames, IA pic.twitter.com/2VZysoM2Ti

– Pictures of dives (@picturesofdives) June 23, 2020

:::

Since Hinke opened the account, people have sent him nearly 900 photos of popular neighborhood dives from around the world. His follower number is now over 35,000 and he even has a makeshift website that records every dive. More importantly, however, he has more stories than he can begin with.

“It was fun, people like to send me stuff and tell me stories about the crunchy old guy at the end of the bar or about a bar in Philadelphia where their wallet was stolen when the Eagles made the playoffs and the guy who the one that stole felt bad, so he sent it back and the owner got it the day the Eagles did the Super Bowl, ”says Hinke.

Virtually every bar sent to him goes up on Pictures of Dives except the one where he could clearly see a waiter in a tie (“come on”) or some blurry nonsense.

“My standards are pretty low,” he jokes.

The pinned tweet above the account expresses things pretty well:

“Lots of conversation in the @s about whether certain bars are * really * dives, and while we encourage discussion and debate, we have an intense and robust review process to ensure the authenticity of every dive posted (you send us a picture and say it’s a dive and we believe you) ”

Green Parrot Bar – Key West, FL (Photos by @ SimonGeo98) pic.twitter.com/vCTWoABzAz

– Pictures from dives (@picturesofdives) May 1, 2021

Hinke found a job as a part-time caretaker in Hyde Park, Chicago during the pandemic (“If someone wants a cheap beer, it’s someone who does physical, cheap work and is not well paid,” he laughs), and made all kinds of friends while running the account.

But his biggest fan? His mother Nancy, who likes and comments on practically every Instagram post (yes, Picture of Dives is also on Instagram), mostly with her diving seal of approval.

Even as the world gets vaccinated and bars reopen, the Virginia native says he will continue to run the account, which is great news for my new internet obsession.

The Blue Room – Cedar Falls, IA (Photo by @mjweedman) pic.twitter.com/7RyNwrtjDi

– Pictures of dives (@picturesofdives) May 7, 2021

:::

I have only visited my brother-in-law in Sacramento twice since he moved there a few years ago. Once to see an apartment he no longer lives in and a second time to visit another apartment he no longer lives in.

But one of my pandemic resolutions is to return for a third visit, 1) to see his new new NEW place, 2) because he is about to have a baby, but also 3) because of a couple of Sacramento dives that I feed at Hinkes have found .

Some of my favorite bars in America were dives that I found in other cities: Snake and Jake’s in New Orleans (a casual Christmas bar away from the French Quarter that felt like there was a good chance I could get stabbed, but in a good way) or Santa’s Pub in Nashville, Tennessee, (another laid back Christmas bar in a double-wide trailer with really phenomenal karaoke) or Jumbo’s Clown Room in LA (a burlesque club with disheveled dancers of all kinds) size and construction, where I once met Blake Anderson from “Workaholics”). Just great, cheap bars full of great memories and fun times.

Snake and Jakes Christmas Club Lounge – New Orleans, LA pic.twitter.com/skBFMBpJLD

– Pictures from dives (@picturesofdives) December 25, 2020

If there’s one thing I’ve always loved about San Francisco, it’s the dive bars, which is why I write about it so often. I miss singing at Bow Bow, miss pinball at Molotov’s, miss beer and a shot at The Tempest, miss the dog wall at Kilowatt, miss the dice cup at Clooney’s, miss the dice game with The Big Dog in the Black Horse London Pub, miss Making Rock – Word games in the Rock Bar, miss live music at the Utah Hotel.

There is something special about the dives from SF. They are all totally and utterly unique, but they always make you feel the same. They are part of what makes the city a city, and I couldn’t be happier to finally do more than just look at pictures of them.

Check out pictures of dives on Twitter here and if you’re generous get Brandon a beer here.

More Bay Area Dive Bar Stories

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GAITHERSBURG, Md. (CNN) – The incredible story of a Maryland handyman who risked his own life to help a needy neighbor might not have happened six years ago without some arbitrary kindness.

It all started six years ago at a bus stop in Gaithersburg, Maryland, when Doug Shumway did something extraordinary.

“I happened to notice someone who was standing at the bus stop. It was a winter day and I realized I could take this person with me, ”Shumway said.

Handyman Dan Reynolds donated a kidney to his neighbor Tony Antonelli. The transplant was completed on February 23, and the two men are now recovering at home.(Source: GoFundMe)

That person was Dan Reynolds, who agreed to go because 10 inches of snow covered the ground and it was 15 degrees outside. The two men talked, and Shumway learned that Reynolds was a contractor, so he hired him to fix some plumbing.

The job lasted a few days, and before Reynolds left, he admitted he was homeless. After a divorce and heavy debt, he had lived in a van for two years.

Shumway offered him a place to stay.

“That’s how we should be as humans. If so, give up, ”said Shumway.

Reynolds has lived with Shumway ever since. He quickly became a household name in the neighborhood and began working as a handyman for other families. Tony Antonelli was one of his clients.

One day Reynolds was mowing grass at Antonelli’s house and noticed that he looked uncomfortable. Antonelli told him that his kidneys were failing and that he needed a transplant.

“I said, ‘Well, if it can be done, I’d be honored to give you one of mine,'” Reynolds said.

“It was a complete shock, out of the blue, and honestly, you can’t make that up,” said Antonelli.

Miraculously, the two men made a perfect match. The transplant was completed on February 23rd and they are now recovering at home.

“There’s a reason Dan is in my life and it’s to save my life. I can’t thank him enough, ”said Antonelli.

To fund the operation, Reynolds’ friends organized a GoFundMe that raised more than $ 25,000. They also hope his story will inspire others to become organ donors.

“It’s not difficult to help one another, to do things for one another. Keep paying, ”Reynolds said.

Copyright 2021 CNN Newsource. All rights reserved.

The post Handyman donates kidney to present again after being helped out of homelessness appeared first on Los Gatos News And Events.

GAITHERSBURG, Md. (CNN) – The incredible story of a Maryland handyman who risked his own life to help a needy neighbor might not have happened six years ago without some arbitrary kindness.

It all started six years ago at a bus stop in Gaithersburg, Maryland, when Doug Shumway did something extraordinary.

“I happened to notice someone who was standing at the bus stop. It was a winter day and I realized I could take this person with me, ”Shumway said.

Handyman Dan Reynolds donated a kidney to his neighbor Tony Antonelli. The transplant was completed on February 23, and the two men are now recovering at home.(Source: GoFundMe)

That person was Dan Reynolds, who agreed to go because 10 inches of snow covered the ground and it was 15 degrees outside. The two men talked, and Shumway learned that Reynolds was a contractor, so he hired him to fix some plumbing.

The job lasted a few days, and before Reynolds left, he admitted he was homeless. After a divorce and heavy debt, he had lived in a van for two years.

Shumway offered him a place to stay.

“That’s how we should be as humans. If so, give up, ”said Shumway.

Reynolds has lived with Shumway ever since. He quickly became a household name in the neighborhood and began working as a handyman for other families. Tony Antonelli was one of his clients.

One day Reynolds was mowing grass at Antonelli’s house and noticed that he looked uncomfortable. Antonelli told him that his kidneys were failing and that he needed a transplant.

“I said, ‘Well, if it can be done, I’d be honored to give you one of mine,'” Reynolds said.

“It was a complete shock, out of the blue, and honestly, you can’t make that up,” said Antonelli.

Miraculously, the two men made a perfect match. The transplant was completed on February 23rd and they are now recovering at home.

“There’s a reason Dan is in my life and it’s to save my life. I can’t thank him enough, ”said Antonelli.

To fund the operation, Reynolds’ friends organized a GoFundMe that raised more than $ 25,000. They also hope his story will inspire others to become organ donors.

“It’s not difficult to help one another, to do things for one another. Keep paying, ”Reynolds said.

Copyright 2021 CNN Newsource. All rights reserved.

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Elephant seals flock to the Año Nuevo State Park and Point Reyes National Seashore wildlife sanctuary. The great white sharks will follow them. Sea otters go on a vigil to avoid turning into shark mints.

This wildlife phenomenon with elephant seals, great white sharks and sea otters shows right now how everything is related in nature. That story began almost 50 years ago with the Marine Mammal Protection Act. Much of the results can be seen on the coast of the Bay Area and Monterey Bay this weekend and well into winter.

Elephant seals

There were no elephant seals in Año Nuevo in 1955, and the first pup born here was suspected to be in the 1960s, according to park staff. The small numbers were a holdover from the days of commercial slaughter when elephant seals were hunted to extinction for processing into oil.

This week there are about 300 elephant seals on the mainland peninsula just off the coast of a small island. With annual migration in full swing, those numbers are likely to hit 500 by early November and 3,500 by January. Starting in mid-winter, puppies averaging 75 pounds will be born, raised, and taught to swim and feed.

Elephant seals: During the breeding season, there is a 3-mile guided hike surrounded by elephant seals. $ 7 per person, December 15 through March 31, reservations at www.reservecalifornia.com. Contact: Año Nuevo State Park Nature Reserve, Pescadero, 650-879-0227 or 650-879-2025, www.parks.ca.gov.

Great White Sharks: Great whites occasionally spotted on whale watching tours to southeast Farallon Island; $ 135 per person, free parking at Marina Green, San Francisco. Contact: Oceanic Society, 415-256-9604, www.oceanicsociety.org.

Sea otters: Sea otters can be spotted along the slough that leads to the mouth of Moss Landing Harbor and east of Highway 1 in the mouth; GPS location: 2370 Highway 1, Moss Landing. Contacts: Kayak Connection, Kayak Rentals, 831-724-5692, www.kayakconnection.com; Elkhorn Slough Safari, pontoon boat tours, 831-633-5555, www.elkhornslough.com; Blue Water Ventures, guided kayak tours, 831-459-8548, www.bluewaterventures.org.