Dutch riot over sex abuse revelations
Dutch police detained at least 40 people following two nights of riots in a working-class neighbourhood, triggered by the airing of a television programme in which a man admitted to sexually molesting his eight-year-old stepdaughter.
Outraged residents in the Graafsewijk neighbourhood of the southern city of Den Bosch smashed the man’s windows and threw his furniture into the streets after the broadcast of the show “Problem Neighbourhoods” on Thursday night.
The weekly programme interviews “regular folks” about their daily lives and is aired nationally on the popular commercial channel SBS6. The broadcaster later removed the programme from its website, and police would not release the man’s name.
Residents threw rocks at dozens of riot police who arrived in Graafsewijk to impose emergency measures, including a ban on “undesirable gatherings” in the neighbourhood.
Four police officers and a cameraman were lightly injured and furniture and cars were set alight, a police statement said.
“More than 40 people were arrested, all of whom are believed to have participated in the disturbances,” said the statement. “Police found molotov cocktails at the home of one of the suspects.”
Further arrests were expected, it said.
