Rotterdam constable accused of forcing junior colleague to have sex: Report

An enforcement officer employed by the municipality of Rotterdam was accused of forcing a female colleague to perform unwanted sexual acts with him in 2018 and early in 2019, according to a confidential report from the National Complaints Committee on Undesirable Behavior for the Decentralized Government, which newspaper AD has in its possession. The accused man denies all allegations, according to the newspaper.

According to the report, the enforcer was the woman's mentor. The woman struggled with financial problems. Out of fear of losing her job, she cooperated in sex with the man, according to the report. This happened in parking lots and in the Campaline hotel in the Alexander district of Rotterdam, among other places. Other colleagues also stated that the man sexually harassed them, including that he asked minor interns about their sex lives. 

The Public Prosecution Service decided not to start a criminal case against the man, due to insufficient evidence. But the committee concluded that there is enough evidence to prove sexually intimidating behavior. According to the report, the enforcer created a "threatening, hostile, insulting and damaging situation" towards the woman through sexual harassment and coercion. 

The committee also criticized the municipality of Rotterdam. According to the complaints committee, the municipality ignored previous signals about the man and that resulted in "an unsafe working environment within which such a situation could have arisen and in which there appears to be border-crossing behavior towards (minor) female employees/interns."

The municipality of Rotterdam told AD that it has taken"disciplinary action" against the man, but cannot comment further on the matter. "We at the municipality of Rotterdam are constantly working to stimulate and guarantee a safe and pleasant working environment," a municipal spokesperson said to the newspaper. "This does not mean that nothing ever goes wrong. That is why there is the protocol 'unwanted behavior', we organize workshops and make managers discuss this theme. There are also confidants to whom employees can report."

The enforcement officer involved denies all allegations against him and said that he was fired, according to AD. He will not accept this and will take the matter to court if necessary, the newspaper writes.