Green party employee fired for sexually assaulting trainee

A GroenLinks employee was fired for sexually assaulting a trainee. The employee tried to grope and kiss the trainee multiple times, GroenLinks announced after a court ruled that the dismissal was justified, ANP reports.

The party first gave the employee an official warning, ordered him to talk to a health a safety officer, go into therapy and apologize to the victim. Until all those requirements were met, he was not allowed to return to the faction. But shortly thereafter it was decided that this was not enough.

The man abandoned a trainee on the streets of The Hague because she refused his sexual advances. He had offered her a place to sleep because she missed the train home. But when she said no to him, he left her on the street with only a smart phone. A party email included in the court's ruling shows that the trainee asked him if he was really going to abandon her, to which the man responded: "I only want you, I want you now". 

GroenLinks leader Jesse Klaver is "sad" that this incident happened, he said to RTL Late Night. "I was a trainee myself, that's supposed to be the best time of your life", he said. "You get to know politics and the profession. Having it so abruptly disrupted is terrible."

The dismissed employee will still receive his transition allowance, the court ruled.