AMSTERDAM – The Dutch government plans to continue its investigation into the local porn industry in the Netherlands, following a series of abuse allegations involving photographer and self-proclaimed ‘model scout’ Daniël van der W.
According to a June report According to the Dutch news source De Volkskrant, Van der W. “over a period of twenty years recruited hundreds of women, mainly from the Czech Republic, for the production of pornography and forced prostitution.” De Volkskrant characterized the allegations against Van der W. as ‘exploitation’ and ‘human trafficking’.
Same electrical outlet reported this week that the government conducted a 2023 investigation into alleged “abuse in the porn world,” which closed without any official charges being filed.
Opposition member Harmen Krul blasted the government, denouncing what he called the “disgusting incompatibility” between the 2023 survey and the June report.
“It has now emerged that such abuses also occur in the Dutch environment,” said Krul, “while the minister previously vehemently denied this.”
Minister of Justice David van Weel said that he will instruct the WODC, his office’s research and data center, to conduct a more in-depth investigation into possible abuses.
The investigation into the local adult industry comes amid a tightening of sex work laws in the country, with the new government in favor of raising the age for legal prostitution from 18 to 21.