Physiotherapist could get 6 years for raping, sexually assaulting 16 clients

The Public Prosecution Service (OM) demanded six years in prison against former physiotherapist Bennie Z. for raping two women and sexually assaulting 14 others while they were receiving treatment at his practice. The OM also asked the court to ban the 55-year-old man from practicing as a physiotherapist for five years after serving his prison sentence and from contacting the victims ever again.

According to the OM, the man took horrible advantage of the women while they were lying on his treatment table, mostly naked. In some cases, he asked the women to undress. In others, he pulled down their underwear himself. He unexpectedly touched and massaged their breasts, buttocks, groin, and labia. He penetrated two women with his fingers, which qualifies as rape under Dutch law.

According to the OM, the suspect did not care about the massive impact sexual abuse has on victims. He also betrayed the trust of the physiotherapist profession, which is why the OM added the profession ban to its recommended sentence.

“The victims turned to the suspect in good faith as a healthcare provider in the hope that his treatment would reduce pain complaints,” the prosecutor said in court. “It is impossible to explain to society that a suspect who abuses his position in this way is then allowed to exercise that position again. “

In court on Monday, Z. denied any wrongdoing. He said that everything he did was in the interest of the women’s health. He acknowledged that some of his treatments were “unusual,” but he denied accusations that he crossed a line. “Sometimes you have to do things just a little differently to get results,” he said. “These treatments were aimed at optimizing muscle mass in order to achieve top performance.”