Childcare worker accused of sex abuse to stay in custody

A pedagogical assistant suspected of sexually abusing two girls in his care at a Patrou child care institution in De Bilt, will remain in custody for another 60 days, the court ruled on Friday, NU.nl reports.

Bart C., 27, was arrested in August after two girls from the same family told their parents he made them perform sexual acts with him. He confessed to doing so after his arrest.

In the days following his arrest, the authorities received a number of reports from parents of children attending the same Patrou facility. The Public Prosecutor did reveal exactly how many reports, but did say it was less than five. A spokesperson for the Prosecutor told NU.nl that these reports are still part of the investigation, but no official charges were filed against C. yet.

A pro-forma hearing is scheduled for November 7th. The exact charges against C. are expected to be revealed then.

A week after his arrest, C. tried to commit suicide in his cell. After a short stay in the hospital, he was returned to custody.