Prison, treatment for dental student who threatened Groningen academic hospital staff

A former dental student has been sentenced to a year in prison and involuntary psychiatric care for threatening and harassing staff at the University Medical Center Groningen, where she had studied. She continued to stalk employees and returned to the hospital despite a restraining order.

The 30-year-old started her studies in 2015. Beginning in 2018, she sent inappropriate emails to UMCG employees, which led to her being forced to leave the program in September 2022.

Angry over being forced to leave her studies, she sent a continuous stream of threatening and insulting emails, chat messages, and social media posts. The court in Groningen noted that she also put up flyers in the hospital containing “the most serious allegations,” as described by the judges.

Even while detained following her arrest, she kept sending messages. The judges ruled that she had “well overstepped the bounds of what is permissible.”

The court believes the woman probably suffers from a paranoid personality disorder, “characterized by mistrust or suspicion.” The judges are concerned that she perceives herself as a victim of a conspiracy and is likely to offend again. As a result, she has been sentenced to involuntary psychiatric care for up to four years.

The UMCG described the impact on students’ and staff’s sense of safety as serious. “We are relieved that the court considered safety heavily in its sentencing. At the same time, we hope M. receives proper care,” the hospital said. Previously, the UMCG had stated it would implement “immediate visible and behind-the-scenes security measures” if she were acquitted.