Court bars Christian group from accusing sex-ed center of promoting pedophilia

The conservative Christian association Civitas Christiana was found guilty of unlawful conduct for trying to tie sexual health research center Rutgers to claims of pedophilia, according to a preliminary injunction issued by a judge in Utrecht on Thursday. Rutgers brought the case to the District Court of Midden-Nederland, alleging the Christian organziation was structurally engaged in slander by accusing Rutgers of sexualizing children with its education material.

The association has been ordered to stop the distribution of the book, Zwartboek Lentekriebels, which contains the unlawful accusations. “In addition, Civitas may no longer make unlawful statements about Rutgers and the Week van de Lentekriebels,” the court said. The organization was also ordered to publish a rectification and are banned from making claims like this again in the future. Other unlawful messages and publications made by the association also need to be deleted and rectified.

During the Week van de Lentekriebels, known as Spring Fever Week in English, many children at primary schools are taught about relationships, boundaries, and sexuality. Civitas Christiana thinks that the teaching material of Rutgers is too open when it comes to sex.

The organization is allowed to proclaim this, the court emphasized, but freedom of expression and religion have limits, and the foundation has crossed these by claiming that there is a "pedophile agenda" behind the theme week.

"Civitas has not provided any evidence to support this serious accusation," the court ruled. The court also stated that Civitas distorted passages from Rutgers' teaching material and wrongly placed them in a context of "incitement to sexual acts.” The organization then spread their accusations under the name Gezin in Gevaar, families in danger in English.

Rutgers called it an “important verdict” in the battle to combat “misinformation, the spread of lies and online hate.” The knowledge center also sees this as a “show of support to parents, teachers, and schools who all want children to be able to grow up in a healthy, safe, and happy way.”

Luc Lauwers, Rutgers’ deputy director, said: “This case was not just about a difference in opinion on upbringing, but about the spread of fake news which endangers children instead of protects them.”

The association has not responded to the verdict as of yet. Another lawsuit was also recently brought against Civitas when it comes to spreading misinformation. Writer Pim Lammers and his publicist took legal action to stop the association. In that case, a settlement was reached: the association has promised to remove all accusations about Lammers and not to repeat them.