Two primary schools in Zaventem suspended the same interim teacher with urgency after they found out that he is facing a potential 40 months in prison after being accused of assaulting five 9-year-old girls in another primary school.
He was accused of touching five of his 9-year-old pupils inappropriately, both above and under their clothes. His case will go to court in July.
The Vrije Basisschool in Sterrebeek and the Sint-Lambertuscollege in Nossegem recognised their teacher in an article that Het Laatste Nieuws published about the assaults. Both schools immediately suspended the teacher and send a message to all parents to reassure them.
The student guidance centre officially confirmed it was the same teacher on Thursday morning, and explained to the students what was going on as well as organised individual conversations with the parents.
“It was something that the children talked about. Mostly about the teacher tapping their behinds and touching them in a way that made them feel uncomfortable," one of the parents said to Het Laatste Nieuws. "When I asked my daughter about it, she started crying. She did not have any problems with the teacher personally, but she mainly feels guilty for not believing her friends when they said something," she added.
The inappropriate touching had been going on since September, reported Het Laatste Nieuws. The schools do not wish to respond, but their lawyer confirmed that the teacher will be fired.
Maïthé Chini
The Brussels Times
