Football coach who filmed 500 children facing 7 years in prison

A football coach who filmed hundreds of boys as young as nine in the changing rooms is facing seven years in prison.

The 39-year-old man from Vlissingen, Robin J., secretly made the recordings at various football clubs in Zeeland during a 15-year period starting in 2010.

He only stopped when police raided his home last year when a former pupil reported an allegation of sexual abuse years after the event, after telling the story to his mother.

Officers found 27,000 images of children on his computer, which were organised in folders by club, team and year. Local newspaper PZC said between 500 and 600 children aged between nine and 15 could be identified in the photographs.

J. admitted the offence but said he had not shared the images with anybody else. The prosecution service said there was no evidence he physically abused anyone other than the person who filed the complaint.

Prosecutors asked the district court in Middelburg to impose a prison sentence of seven years and ban J. from working with children for 10 years. The court will deliver its verdict in two weeks’ time.