The Hague appeal court on Tuesday upheld an 18-year sentence handed down to a former policeman who raped and murdered a 12-year-old girl.

The court ruled Sander V had taken the girl against her will and strangled her after first sexually abusing her. He then buried her in his garden.
The public prosecution department had called for a 25-year sentence.
The appeal court upheld the original 18-year sentence, which will be followed by compulsory psychiatric treatment. The lower court had not found V guilty of rape.
V was arrested a week after the girl disappeared after confessing the murder to his girlfriend.