Civil servant charged with exchanging phone sex for social benefits

The Netherlands prosecution service Openbaar Ministerie has accused a civil servant of approving social benefit money in exchange for phone sex, the OM said. The suspect is an employee of benefit agency Uitvoeringsinstituut Werknemersverzekeringen, better known as the UWV, the organization handling employee insurances. On Monday the OM in Groningen requested an eight-month sentence, of which four are conditional, for misuse of power. They also want to try to prohibit the 46-year-old Kollum man from working as a civil servant for the next 3 years.

The victim, who is not able to work because of mental health issues, said her sickness reviewer wanted to meet with her. At that meeting, the civil servant organized extra allowances and prolonged her benefit, she said. In exchange for the additional money, he arranged 12 different phone sex encounters with her. She claims it was her decision to go along with the plan only because she needed money for her young child, and not because she wanted a sexual relationship with the accused. According to nu.nl she had to act on the phone as though she were satisfying herself. The civil servant followed up on the phone calls by sending hundreds of emails with very personal and sexually-tinted text. The court will issue a ruling in two weeks.