Zoetermeer school caretaker faces trial over sex abuse of at least 18 children

The criminal case against Oskar van der V., who stood trial on Tuesday for alleged indecent acts involving children and covertly recording them at a school in Zoetermeer, has had a profound impact on the victims and their families. During the hearing, the parents of ten victims delivered victim impact statements. Among them was a mother who formally alerted the school in late 2022 after her daughter reported that the caretaker had touched her inappropriately. She also addressed the court with a statement. Authorities have received 18 formal complaints in the case.

Investigators are also aware of additional children who reported being filmed by the suspect, although no corresponding recordings have been recovered. A search of Van der V.'s home further uncovered almost 200,000 files containing child sexual abuse material.

Van der V., 58, was employed as a caretaker at the school from December 2019 onward. According to the court proceedings, Van der V. had been undergoing voluntary treatment since 2018 because of his sexual attraction to children. His treatment providers warned him against working in a school environment, but he told them he believed he had little choice but to take the caretaker job, citing obligations linked to his welfare benefits.

"That grown man, who lied about the contents of the report, who turned it into a claim that my child was seeking him out too much, and who said he felt sorry for my daughter because she doesn't have a father, was believed without any hesitation. Meanwhile, my daughter's account was not taken seriously," the mother said.

"Of course, I always believed my daughter's story, but it proved nearly impossible to persuade the school management to conduct even the slightest further investigation into his behavior," she said. "The battle over the truth that followed was inhumane for me as a mother."

Several other parents described the lasting impact the alleged abuse and covert filming have had on their children. One mother said her daughter has become fearful of situations she once handled without concern. "She won't go to the playground or the bathroom by herself, and she is afraid of being alone in enclosed spaces," she said.

The child also suffers from nightmares and often wakes up crying. According to her mother, even men wearing black shoes trigger anxiety because they remind her of Oskar.

Another child became a victim just three weeks after starting kindergarten. "It's a nightmare," her mother told the court. "On Liberation Day, she asked whether everyone would be set free, and whether Mr. Oskar would be set free as well."

Several parents told the court that they only recently learned their children had been identified in video material recovered by police from the suspect. "We are still at the very start of processing this," one mother said. Others described noticeable changes in their daughters' behavior, saying they became increasingly anxious while the caretaker was employed at the school.

During Tuesday's hearing, Van der V. acknowledged that he had long struggled with sexual feelings toward children. "This is something I live with," he told the court, adding that seeking professional help was the only way he knew to deal with it.