A court sentenced a 63-year-old man from Woudenberg to four and a half years in prison for repeatedly raping his children’s babysitter over several years, beginning when she was 16. The man, a former elder in the same church as the victim and her father, admitted having sexual contact but denied forcing her; the court found that she had not consented and that he had exploited a relationship of dependency, his age, authority and church position.

The court also found stalking and defamation proven and imposed a five-year restraining order. A single report said the abuse began in late 2019 and continued until early 2024, and that the man was later removed from the church administration and barred from the church.