If it is up to the Public Prosecution Service, a 39-year-old dance teacher from Zwaag must go to prison for three years and then not be allowed to teach for five years. Kurt F. is said to have sexually abused two of his underage pupils between 2010 and 2015. Today they told their story in court. “He was manipulative and had power over me.”
That’s what one of the women says through the microphone. She addresses the court and the suspect from Zwaag – her dance teacher at the time.
It largely takes place at DSV Dance Impression, a dance school in Hoorn. The alleged victims, now in their twenties, have been under the care of dance teacher Kurt F. They look up to him enormously and see him as a kind of god. Music and dancing is their passion and their life.
Why a lawsuit now?
The reports against Kurt F. – about the alleged sexual abuse up to eight years ago – stem from the news of whistleblower Kim Koumans, who brought the abuse in the dance world to light in 2021. She and others then reported unwanted sexual behavior against a dance teacher from Brabant.
He would have showered them with compliments. According to the public prosecutor, it starts with an innocent flirtation, but that would soon turn into sexual innuendos and sexual abuse.
“It feels good to be able to share my story now, to give it a place,” says one of the women. “There is a lot wrong with the dance world. A place where a political game is played, with sexually tinted comments.”
“It resulted in a ten-year mental battle. I don’t wish this on anyone, it hurts me.”
She says she was 15 years old when the dance teacher assaults her for the first time. “He was manipulative and had power over me. I blame him very much. It resulted in a mental battle of ten years. I don’t wish this on anyone, it hurts me.”
Authority relationship
In addition to her, two other women report the crime. One of them has been filed. The other declarant is also in court today. “I am not alone, together we are strong. I am doing this for those who do not dare to step forward,” she says. According to her, F. abuses his relationship of authority.
The abuse allegedly happened between 2010 and 2015, in Hoorn, a hotel in Heerhugowaard and at a training camp in Purmerend, among others.
Dance teacher denies
Dance teacher Kurt F. has always denied the abuse. Also today, if he has to appear before the court in Haarlem. Then he reads out his statement, visibly emotional. “The damage has already been done. I have already been condemned by the media. Everything I say will not be believed. What is the point then?”, he says. It’s hard for him. “I am deeply touched that people have hated me and still hate me. I am innocent.”
Lawyer Joris van ‘t Hoff calls the declarations ‘incorrect, incomplete, distorted and unreliable’. He asks for an acquittal. “They were no longer selected for the dance team. That has left deep marks on both.” They would be out for revenge. He says that the declarants had frequent contact with each other before they filed a report and knocked on the door of whistleblower Kim Koumans. “They pushed each other on, nothing happened.”
Professional ban
The prosecutor sees it differently. She is seeking a prison sentence of 36 months and a professional ban of 5 years. According to her, the dance teacher does not want to cooperate with an investigation into his psychological condition. “He takes no responsibility for his actions.”
She points out that the women – minors at the time – depended on F. to realize their dance dreams. “He had a high position in the dance world.”
The court will rule in the case in two weeks.
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