A former primary school teacher who taught at a school in Valkenburg has been jailed for five years for repeatedly sexually assaulting and raping one of his pupils.

The man, who denied the charges, was arrested after the girl, who was between nine and 12 when she was assaulted, filed charges against him some years later. “I wanted to push everything away, but that only helped you,” she told the man in court.

The man also has to pay the girl €60,000 in damages, including costs for therapy and study delays.

The girl’s accusations were supported by people who noticed a change in her behaviour when the abuse began and comments about the man “touching” her. The man, who was a friend of her father’s, admitted that he was in frequent contact with the girl and even slept in her room one time.

The judge considered the evidence sufficiently convincing and sentenced the man to five years. “The suspect was a family friend and had a relationship of trust with the victim. He has grossly abused that trust,” local Limburg broadcaster L1 quoted him as saying.

The brazenness of the abuse, which took place in the school and other public places, was “revolting”, the judge said. The man was also found to possess animal pornography, which was also part of the sentence.

The man, now 57, also communicated with other girls in the school where he taught until 2018, when he was fired for unrelated issues. He has two weeks to appeal the sentence.