A couple from Vlaardingen have been sentenced to eight years in prison for the prolonged abuse of their foster daughter, leaving her permanently disabled and dependent on care.

Foster parents Johnny van den B and Daisy W were arrested 18 months ago after the 10-year-old girl was admitted to hospital with severe injuries. She had multiple fractures, extensive scarring, brain damage and was severely underweight. At the time of her admission, she weighed just 19 kilos.

Because of the brain damage she sustained, the girl now functions at the level of a toddler and is currently being looked after by two carers.

The Rotterdam court ruled that the couple had systematically mistreated the girl and other children in their care, including her younger sister and two Syrian foster brothers.

During the investigation it emerged that the neighbours, the girl’s school and the girl herself had sounded the alarm about her treatment but that she had been left in the care of the couple.

Van den B told the court earlier this month that he had kept the girl locked up. She was held in a cage, chained, and the handle of her bedroom door had been removed. He claimed this was to protect her and others in the household.

Prosecutors had called for an 11-year prison term and compulsory psychiatric treatment, but the court ruled that such a measure was not necessary because the couple will never be foster parents again. They will, however, be under social worker supervision.

Social workers

Last week it emerged that the private social work agency which placed the children with the couple is at the centre of another child abuse scandal.

The William Schrikker agency removed a child from a small scale unit in the north of the country because of concerns about their treatment but later put new children in the care home after “improvements” were made.

Those children, aged nine and 10, were removed earlier this month after telling officials they had been hit, bitten by a dog and forced to work. The agency said it had reported the matter to the police as soon as it had been alerted to the concerns.