Two-year sentence for Dalfsen parents in child abduction case; no return to prison

The district court in Zwolle has handed down a two-year prison sentence, with 17 months conditionally suspended, to a couple from Dalfsen for abducting their children to Belgium in March 2025. The parents, Michaël van K.,55, and Samantha F.,46, have already spent that period in custody before trial.

The Public Prosecution Service (OM) had recommended an 18-month prison sentence combined with compulsory psychiatric treatment (TBS) for F., and a 40-month sentence for K., including 10 months conditionally suspended. However, the court ruled that TBS was not justified, saying there was no evidence of a mental disorder in F.’s case. The defendants were also not prosecuted for possession of a stun gun.

The children, an 11-year-old girl and her 6-year-old brother at the time, were under state supervision and living outside the home when they were taken. The girl was pulled off her bicycle on her way to school, while the boy was removed from a car at the foster home where he was staying. “The suspects took the law into their own hands, and the court strongly condemns this,” the judgment said.

The court said the children continue to experience the impact of the abduction. “They live with the fear that they could be taken again at any moment,” the judge said.

The court also imposed a three-year ban on contact with the children, as well as a prohibition on entering Dalfsen, Kampen, and Zwolle. The children have been in care since 2021. The parents said they feared losing parental authority and intended to bring the matter before Belgian authorities, arguing they were entitled to take the children with them.

The court found that the parents had meticulously prepared the kidnapping, with a getaway car in place and disguises at hand. After the abduction, they crossed into Germany and continued on to Belgium.

An Amber Alert was issued for the children, who were later discovered during the night of April 1 last year in a property in Oudenaarde. The two parents were subsequently taken into custody.

The court acquitted F.’s sister, Rasheda E.,43, stating that knowledge of the plan alone does not amount to aiding and abetting, and is therefore insufficient for a conviction.