Dance school owner Khalid A. has been sentenced on appeal to eight years in prison for abusing thirteen students of his dance school Groningen Dance Center. Among the victims is a Hoogeveen woman. The eight years in prison is a heavier sentence than the court in Groningen previously imposed on him.
Khalid A., who was not present himself, denied any involvement. He says he only had sex with a 17-year-old student, but it was voluntary and they were in love. The court does not agree. “He put the victims in a dependent situation and exerted psychological pressure so that they could not resist,” says the counselor.
A. said during the handling of the case that he was a kind of father figure to the girls and that he would never have abused that position. He was often alone with the girls, making them do stretching exercises so that they would get better.
A different image of A. emerges in the victim statements. The victims feel abused by someone they trusted. Moreover, A. had a dominant position in the dance school. The girls are still suffering from what happened to them. Some have dropped out of school and all are in trauma therapy.
The court sees the statements of the dance students mainly as evidence that A. is guilty. Their statements to the police agree on crucial points. The court also blames him heavily for not stopping until the girls went to the police. The abuse lasted five years. According to the court, the chance of recurrence is high, because of his negative attitude.
A. was arrested in September 2020 and has now been detained for almost three years. He can still appeal the verdict. The Supreme Court will then review whether the investigation has proceeded according to protocol. If so, the penalty stands.