A 29-year-old former teacher from an elementary school in The Hague has been sentenced by the court to imprisonment and community service. He was found guilty of sexually abusing a twelve-year-old student at a school camp. The man will not receive a professional ban.
The abuse took place on January 31 during the final camp of group 8 in Drenthe, according to the verdict published on Monday. The former teacher was already fired earlier this year due to the report of the abuse.
According to the court, it has been proven that the man climbed into the student’s bed in the early morning, placed his hand under the student’s underwear on the stomach and rubbed towards the genitals. According to the court, these actions were sexual. The former teacher denies the allegations.
The man receives a prison sentence of 180 days, of which 167 days are suspended. In addition, he must perform 150 hours of community service. The suspended part of the sentence applies for three years. The conditions include a treatment obligation, a contact ban with the victim and his parents, and a reporting obligation in the event of changes in work.
According to the court, there is clearly an unequal situation in which the former teacher seriously abused his position and damaged the trust of students and parents.
Man will not receive a professional ban
In addition to the imposed sentence, the man must pay the victim more than 1,000 euros in compensation. He will not receive a professional ban because experts estimate the risk of recurrence to be low.
After the incident, the school offered information and assistance to parents and students, with support from the GGD.