A second case of teen prostitution reaches court on Thursday when eight men appear before a court in Rotterdam.

The eight are accused of having sex with a 16-year-old offered for sale via internet, broadcaster Nos reports.

The case closely mirrors that of a 16-year-old girl in Valkenburg last month. A total of 24 men were charged with sexual abuse of a minor in two hotels in Valkenburg. Three of them were jailed; the others were given community service sentences.

Sex sites

In the new case, the girl was offered via sex sites by her boyfriend and three of his friends. In May last year she received clients on two weekends in a storage room in the basement of a house on Schiedam.

The case came to light when one of the friends went to the police.

The police traced 12 clients aged between 25 and 54. There was not enough evidence against three of them, but nine are being prosecuted. The ninth will appear in court at a later date.

Important

The judgement in Rotterdam is of great importance to the public prosecution department, which is taking a tougher stance in cases of teen prostitution. It had asked for stiffer sentences in the Valkenburg case and was disappointed in the verdicts.

If the Rotterdam judge also imposes light sentences, the tough approach of the public prosecutor will have failed, Nos says.