An Islamic primary school director and city councillor in Gouda, the Netherlands, has been arrested and detained for at least 90 days as allegations have emerged that he sexually abused a 13-year-old girl.
Khalid T. is suspected of having sexually abused a 13-year-old girl and has already been banned from the Islamic primary school Al Noer where he served as a director. “He is still under suspicion, but returning to this school is not an option,” one of the members of the school board told Dutch newspaper Algemeen Dagblad.
The lawyer for Khalid T., Shirley Splinter hit out at the Dutch Labour Party (PvdA) of which Khalid T. was not only a member but also a sitting city councillor for.
The party distanced themselves from him soon after his arrest and released a statement saying: “The faction of the PvdA Gouda, with astonishment, has taken note of the arrest of K.T. It is very clear that given the seriousness of the situation, K.T. can no longer be part of the faction. The national party management took note of the situation and decided to withdraw K.T.’s membership.”
Ms. Splinter said her client denied any wrongdoing and went on to add: “It’s one suspicion, one girl and no evidence.”
“Certainly for a man, this is one of the most serious allegations that you can have against you,” she added.
The chairman of the Nour mosque, which has also banned Khalid T., said that no sexual abuse occurred at the mosque itself. “The mosque is only for praying. Nothing happened here. We do not want anything to do with this,” he said and added that Khalid only came to the mosque for major Muslim events like Ramadan.
Muslim sexual abuse of minors is emerging as a major issue across Europe, from the grooming gangs in the UK to various cases of sexual abuse in asylum homes in Germany and Sweden.
In the West Midlands borough of Sandwell, authorities recorded 6,226 child abuse allegations were made in the grooming gang “hot spot” between 2012 to 2016, an average of three per day.