THE HAGUE--The ruling liberal democratic VVD party in the Dutch Parliament's Second Chamber wants to know how it is possible that a man from St. Maarten who had been convicted for incest was given custody of his children.
Members of Parliament (MPs) Brigitte van der Burg and Ard van der Steur, both of the VVD, asked State Secretary for Safety and Justice Fred Teeven (VVD) why authorities had put the care of a young daughter into the hands of a man who had been sentenced for sexually abusing another daughter in the past.
The daughter was 11 when her father impregnated her, probably during a vacation in their home country St. Maarten. She delivered a baby during a school trip in Groningen last month. The case has been the centre of media attention. The latest media reports of authorities being unaware of the father's record of sexual offence were cause for the MPs to pose questions.
Van der Burg and Van der Steur inquired about the role and responsibility of the Council for Child Protection in the investigation of parents prior to awarding them custody. The MPs suggested it was the Council's task to check whether a parent had a criminal record and requested that the State Secretary amend the law so this would become standard procedure.
The Council for Child Protection stores files of children up to age 24. The MPs want to prolong this term, because it became clear that the file of the elder daughter had been destroyed for privacy reasons at the time custody of the younger daughter had been awarded.
Van der Burg and Van der Steur expressed support for a legal system to monitor the births of children fathered by sexual offenders.
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