BEEK/HEERLEN - The scout leader denies any form of lewdness, his lawyer Serge Weening informs.He allegedly only performed a sign check on the children during the summer camp of scouting Jan Baptist in Koersel, Belgium. The scouts suspended the man after accusations from parents last year.
"He went too far and did not comply with the intimacy protocol of Scouting Nederland," responded group leader Luc Stel of Jan Baptist. According to him, it is not at all common for Scout leaders to conduct sign checks. "However, we do act on complaints from children and advise parents after camp to check their children for ticks. If they are places that you as a leader should stay away from, you can still always go to a doctor."
During the sign check by the 25-year-old leader, the girls had to undress completely. The prosecution in Maastricht suspects the baseball coach from Vaals of having committed lewd acts for years with two boys who played sports under his leadership at Cheetahs Beek and Afnorth Brunssum. The lewd acts began when the boys were 13 and 14 years old and took place in the car, at the man's home and during a tournament in Germany.
He kept telling the boys that by training extra with him, they would increase their chances of playing baseball at a high level. For one of the victims, the baseball coach acted as a father figure. The boy also stayed overnight with the suspect, who gave him pocket money and arranged jobs for him.
The two victims following the man when the coach swapped Cheetahs Beek for Afnorth in Brunssum. Cheetahs spokesman, former president Jack Heuts, let it be known that the baseball club became aware of the suspicion against the former coach only last year through questions from the police. "He left about five years ago in a not-so-pleasant way because he took talented players with him to his new club."
Attorney Judith Serrarens of the Vaalsen native could not be reached for comment.
