A crowd funding action by the influencer Acid has already raised more than 100,000 euro. On Thursday Acid, whose real name is Nathan Vandergunst, given a three-month suspended prison sentence, fined 800 euro and ordered to pay to 20,000 euro in compensation for having disclosed the names of the members of the former student fraternity Reuzegom in videos published on his YouTube channel.
Influencer Acid’s crowd funding action to fund compensation raises more than 100,000 euro
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In early 2018 a 20-year-old student, Sanda Dia, died during a Reuzegom student fraternity hazing ceremony. Last year 18 members of the now-defunct fraternity were convicted by the Court of Appeal in Antwerp on charges of inhumane treatment and involuntary manslaughter. They were given community service and fined. The court also ruled that the convictions should not appear on their criminal records.
Many perceived the sentences to be too lenient and some including Nathan Vandergunst spoke of “class justice”. Under his pseudonym Acid, Nathan Vandergunst is a popular influencer among young people in Flanders and his YouTube channel has many thousands of followers.
Conviction
On Thursday morning Nathan Vandergunst reacted with shock at his sentence. The court in Bruges (West Flanders) gave him a three-month prison sentence suspended for three and a 800-euro fine. The conviction will apear on his criminal record.
He was also ordered to pay 20,000 to the business of the parents of one of the former Reuzegom members. They have a restaurant in Antwerp and their business suffered a substantial loss of customers as a result of acid’s video.
Money that remains will go to the Sanda Dia Foundation
On Thursday evening Acid announced in a YouTube video that he was launching a crowdfunding action to help him pay the compensation claim. In a little over 12 hours the crowdfunding had raised 100,000 euro, more than enough to pay the compensation. Acid says that the money that remains after he has paid the compensation will go to the Sanda Dia Foundation.
However, it remains to be seen whether Nathan Vandergunst will actually have to pay the compensation as his lawyer Walter Van Steenbrugge has told VRT News that his client intends to appeal.