Police use hologram to solve sex crime gone cold

A rape case that had gone cold has recently been revived as authorities use cutting-edge technology to try to uncover the perpetrator's identity.

Dutch police are attempting to uncover the identity of a person who raped a girl in the Netherlands in 2009. Authorities hope hologram technology will help solve the cold case.

A 15-year-old girl was raped while walking along a bike path through the Panbos forest between Bilthoven and Bosch en Duin on September 4th, 2009.

On the day of the assault, the man was reportedly wearing a blue tracksuit jacket with white stripes along the sleeves, resembling the brand Adidas.

The man had a light complexion, dark hair, was unshaven, and possibly had blue eyes, according to a machine-translated report by Dutch police.

Police believe they’re looking for a suspect in their mid-40s and 60s, as the perpetrator was between 30 and 40 years old at the time of the crime.

One notable feature was that the man in question smelled of alcohol at the time of the attack, despite the event taking place in the early afternoon.

To help jog the victim’s memory, Dutch police have created a composite sketch and a 3D model of the perpetrator, which have helped bring the victim's memories to life, “making them almost tangible.”

Working with the police, the victim, and a 3D artist, the victim’s memories have been processed and transformed into a 3D model, which should hopefully help locate the man and bring him to justice.

While the 3D model may not be totally accurate, the visualization will hopefully spark a reaction from the public and from people who may know the man.

Coupled with the facts gleaned from the investigation, the model should help shed some light on the suspect's identity.

Police are urging anyone with information to come forward, and a reward of nearly $12,000 (€10,000) will be awarded to anyone whose information helps secure a conviction.

Dutch police have previously used holograms and 3D models to help solve cases. Namely, the sex crime case in Schiedam and Vlaardingen in 2021.

A man recognized his colleague after seeing a 3D model proliferate on social media.

A 53-year-old man was arrested for the rapes of two young girls after a comic sketch and 3D hologram were used to identify him, Dutch News reported.

The police received roughly 250 tips about the suspect from these comic sketches and 3D models.

Dutch police also created a hologram of a sex worker in Amsterdam who was murdered in 2009 to help solve the cold case.

Betty Szabó, from Hungary, left for Amsterdam when she was 18 and earned money in the red light district, according to The Guardian.

Szabo was found by two other sex workers in her room after being stabbed multiple times. She was 19 years old at the time of her murder.

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