According to the Public Prosecution Service (OM), a 58-year-old man from Assen, as foreman of an employment agency in Assen, was guilty of sexually abusing an employee. The man has been sentenced to six months in prison, four months of which are conditional.
The man strongly denies the abuse in 2022. He says he only hugged and kissed her. She came to his house a few times to discuss her problems.
The many app messages and voicemails between the suspect and the complainant show a completely different picture, according to the public prosecutor. “It talks about sex and especially not getting pregnant.”
He sent her a photo of his genitals. “That is also inconsistent with his denial,” the prosecutor said. The contacts were intensive, “she also sought out a lot of contact”.
The suspect should only have stepped on the brakes, the Public Prosecution Service believes. He was a manager of employees with an intellectual disability, who therefore cannot participate in the general labor market.
“He had to direct them, pay attention to how they interacted with each other and what their condition was,” the prosecutor said. Contact between managers and those vulnerable employees was not permitted.
“He signed for this,” the prosecutor said. The complainant was entrusted to his care and he seriously betrayed her trust, he said.
The employee eventually told her story to a confidential counselor within the organization in 2024. As a result, the matter came to light much later. The public prosecutor believes that it cannot therefore be said that the case has been left behind for too long.
The man from Assen has a criminal record that is very old and contains other criminal offenses. He has since gotten his life in order. According to the suspect’s lawyer, the complainant was in a different group at the work location at the time and the Assen resident was not her direct supervisor. She sees insufficient evidence for a conviction.
The court will make its ruling on March 17.
