Broadcaster boss quits after son accused of raping 11 youngsters aged 4 to 6
A senior broadcast editor has resigned after her son was charged in a major sexual-offences case, with the station saying the past period had been “personally challenging”
Sandrina Hadderingh has officially stepped down as chief editor of Omroep Gelderland, a Dutch regional public broadcaster(Image: Omroep Gelderland)
A top broadcaster resigned from her role after her son was accused of raping at least 11 children, with some as your as four years old. Broadcaster editor Sandrina Hadderingh has officially stepped down as chief editor of Omroep Gelderland, a Dutch regional public broadcaster, Marco Paans, announced on Thursday (March 9).
Hadderingh had reportedly already temporarily left her position back in September last year after reports emerged that her son was suspected of raping 11 kids and sexually assaulting three more.
Her son was reportedly arrested in December 2024 and is suspected of raping and sexually abusing children while on an internship at a swimming pool in Zelheim, the Netherdlands, between late August and early December that year.
The alleged victims were aged between four and six. At the time of the arrest of Hadderingh’s son, it was agreed that the broadcaster would not engage professionally in the case against him, as the editor was responsible for all journalistic stories at the media outlet, Dutch newspaper De Gelderlander reported.
Nevertheless, that proved impossible at a preliminary hearing against the accused, NL Times reported. At a preliminary hearing on July 15, blog site GeenStijl reported spotting both Omroep Gelderland journalists and Hadderingh at court, attending separately.
It later investigated and, two weeks on, published that Hadderingh was related to the suspect. As per NL Times. In an anonymous letter to De Gelderlander, staff at Omroep Gelderland said many colleagues were shocked by the news, especially as two other employees are linked to the investigation through family ties to one of the victims.
As a result, Hadderingh temporarily stepped aside in September, with director Marco Paans saying it was too difficult to keep work and private life separate. Paans has now announced she is leaving permanently by mutual agreement, describing the past period as “personally challenging” for her.
After 25 years at the broadcaster, she plans to focus on new challenges, according to NL Times. A second preliminary hearing involving the 21-year-old suspect took place on Tuesday.
As well as the alleged rape and child sex abuse at the swimming pool, he is also reportedly suspected of indecent acts involving a six-year-old girl and of possessing child sexual abuse material. During the hearing, the defendant’s lawyer argued that the file contains no evidence that his client actually sexually “penetrated” the children, ANP reported.
The suspect reportedly did not attend the hearing and is currently awaiting trial on conditional release. The UK media has seen a string of high-profile departures linked to child sexual abuse scandals in recent years, most often involving the broadcaster or editor at the centre of the allegations.
Former BBC presenter Huw Edwards quit after he was accused and later admitted offences relating to indecent images of children, while veteran journalist Peter Wilby, a former editor at national titles including The Independent on Sunday and The New Statesman, was also convicted over indecent images.
The BBC has faced senior-level fallout before too, including the resignation of ex-director general George Entwistle amid the fallout from historic abuse coverage, and Fiona Woolf stepping down from leading a government inquiry into child sexual abuse after victims’ groups raised concerns about links to figures connected to the investigation.
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