The Netherlands Four daughters abused: 16 years in prison for Dutch father
In the Netherlands, a man has been sentenced to 16 years in prison for sexually abusing and mistreating his four daughters over a period of around 20 years. The mother must spend ten months in prison because she was partly involved in the crimes, as the court in Arnhem announced on Monday.
01.12.2025, 17:01
SDA
The sexual abuse had taken place throughout the daughters' childhood, with one of them even after she had left the parental home. They were repeatedly beaten, locked in the cellar and put under cold showers. According to the court, most of the abuse was carried out by the now 61-year-old man at the instruction or instigation of his wife (59), who also beat her daughters herself.
Beaten with a Bible and a poker
As the newspaper "De Telegraaf" reported, the children were beaten with a Bible, a hairbrush and a poker, among other things, or beaten with their bare hands.
The daughters pressed charges against their parents several times. "The constant feeling of insecurity, the silence, the abuse, the mistreatment, the humiliation, the unpredictability of both parents and the enormous conflict of loyalty in which the victims constantly found themselves have left deep scars on their lives," the court statement reads. "They never knew a safe home with the protection of a father and a mother during their childhood."
Family "closed and religious"
According to the ANP news agency, the public prosecutor's office described the family as "very secretive and religious"; they had wanted to "keep up appearances on the outside".
The sentence for the father is in line with the prosecution's request. She had demanded ten years' imprisonment for the mother because, in addition to the abuse, she was also allegedly involved in the sexual abuse itself. The court acquitted her of the latter charge due to a lack of evidence.
According to ANP, the couple also had four sons who were also allegedly abused but did not want to press charges against their parents.
