A 14-year-old boy from the town of Winschoten in the far north-east of the country has been arrested on suspicion of sexually abusing at least eight girls, local broadcaster RTV Noord says on Monday.

The girls range in age from eight to 12. The boy was arrested in January and has confessed to the crimes, RTV Noord says. He is currently at home under the supervision of social services.

The boy will appear in court soon and faces up to one year in juvenile detention.

Local mayor Pieter Smit told the broadcaster a special team is on standby to help if the case leads to any ‘social unrest’. The impact on both the victims and their parents has been intense and they are being helped by both the police and specialist victim support staff, Smit said.