Zwaag dance teacher gets 2.5 years for abusing two girls

A court of appeal has again convicted Kurt F., a 42-year-old dance teacher from Zwaag, of sexually abusing two underage girls. It sentenced him to 2.5 years in prison, down from the three years imposed earlier.

The abuse took place from 2010 to 2015. The girls were pupils at his dance school in Hoorn. They reported it to the police years later. The district court sentenced him to three years, a five-year ban on giving dance lessons and compensation for the victims.

F. denied the charges on appeal, but the court found the evidence sufficient. It said it cut the sentence because the appeal took too long to come to court.

The court said it weighed heavily against F. that he never showed concern for the victims or took responsibility. In its words: "On the contrary: the defendant has accused the victims of falsely accusing him and of ruining his life with it."

The court upheld the five-year teaching ban. Unlike the district court, it ruled that the ban does not have to start immediately, following the advice of the probation service (reclassering).

The court said the ban itself is not in question. It said F. had indicated he might want to teach minors again in future, once this case is over, and that this would pose an unacceptable risk to underage girls.