Dutch politician Geert Wilders has demanded the deportation of an asylum seeker currently standing trial for sexually assaulting four 11-year-old girls at a swimming pool resort in the Netherlands.
A total of 10 young girls and women filed complaints against the 29-year-old Syrian asylum seeker last year after he allegedly targeted and groped female visitors of the Center Parcs resort in Zandvoort.
Hart van Nederland reported how some of the girls had their buttocks groped by the man, while others claimed the migrant had clamped his legs around their waists and pressed his genitals against their hips.
Police attended the facility at the time of the alleged offenses and a full investigation was conducted with CCTV footage showing the man directly heading toward young girls in the swimming pool several times.
The public prosecutor told the court that footage of the man choosing to walk against the flow of a whitewater rapid course at the complex in order to reach particular young women was evidence of his predatory nature and intentions.
“Several times, children suddenly look around and get a fright,” the prosecutor told the court.
On Tuesday, a Dutch court heard testimony from the mother of one of the victims who revealed how her young daughter had called her to complain about the “dirty man” who had rubbed his genitals against her and groped her.
The 11-year-old girl has suffered considerable pain and suffering as a result of the incident, and according to her mother, now experiences anxiety attacks and refuses to leave the house on her own. She reportedly still visualizes the attack on a daily basis and remains traumatized by the incident.
The Syrian national, who is still awaiting an asylum decision and fears the court proceedings will impact his application, told the court through an interpreter that he denies the allegations and claims to be homosexual and thus not attracted to women.
His defense counsel has argued there is insufficient evidence for a conviction, and claimed his client had no intention of touching children in an inappropriate manner and any interaction with the minors was not sexually motivated.
He reminded the court that a criminal conviction would likely result in a refusal by the Dutch authorities to grant his client asylum which would have far-reaching consequences for both the defendant and his wife and daughter who are currently residing in Turkey and awaiting the green light to travel to the Netherlands under family reunification laws.
The defendant, who is currently living in an asylum seeker center in Delft, clarified the nature of his marriage to the court by claiming that his wife had “accepted me for who I am,” given the fact he is now claiming to be homosexual.
The public prosecutor has requested a custodial sentence of four months, and the court is expected to deliver its verdict on March 5.
Geert Wilders, whose Party for Freedom (PVV) won the Dutch general election last year and is in talks to lead a new coalition government, commented on the court case on social media, demanding the immediate deportation of the defendant.
“If that is not a reason to immediately throw an asylum seeker out of the country, then our country is lost. Get rid of these kinds of people,” he wrote on X.
The popularity of Wilders’ anti-immigration party has soared in the months following the Dutch general election and the stalemate over forming a coalition is only seeing his stock rise further.
The latest polling sees the PVV sitting top with 31 percent of the vote, up four percentage points on December’s survey.
