Groningen mayor forced to resign after claims he was caught masturbating in his car
Koen Schuiling was forced to resign as mayor of Groningen by the Minister of Interior Affairs Judith Uitermark, NOS reported. The ministry was set to suspend Schuilding if he did not announce his departure by October. This came after the former mayor was fined for allegedly masturbating in public.
The 65-year-old Schuiling announced his resignation in September. He stated that he did not have the energy to perform his duties, mentioning the toll the gas extraction files and asylum seeker measures took on him. But it soon became apparent that this was not the sole reason.
A criminal case, which led to Schuiling being issued a fine of 250 euros that he disputes, is allegedly related to masturbation in public, but this is not clear as of yet. “In March 2024, I was driving my car alone. Due to my medical situation, I suddenly had severe abdominal pain. An attempt to combat the pain was interpreted as offensive by another road user. Of course, that was not the case,” Schuiling said about the incident in September.
Dagblad van Het Noorden has obtained documents from the justice department that stated that Schuiling has been reported for inappropriate behavior in his car on two previous occasions, in October 2023 and February 2024. The mayor was not summoned for those two previous cases. Schuiling maintains that all three cases are based on a misunderstanding.
Schuiling is now appealing a fine that the Public Prosecution Service gave him. The case will be heard by the magistrate in Zwolle on Wednesday.
The former mayor stated that the fine was not the reason for his resignation but did admit that it sped up the process. He did not do any departure interviews as “they would only be about this incident,” a spokesperson said at the time.
