Former Dutch top-100 tennis player and coach jailed for sexual abuse

Former Dutch tennis player and coach Dennis van Scheppingen has been sentenced to three and a half years in prison in The Amsterdam Court, with ten months being suspended. He was found guilty on Wednesday of having sexual relations with two former pupils when he was coaching between 2009-2012.

As well as serving time behind bars, the 50-year-old will not be allowed to continue his coaching for another eight years. The victims were two brothers. In 2022, years after the events occurred, the police were informed by one of the brothers on the case after he filed a complaint. The police then went to his older brother, who followed the same pattern as his sibling by filing a complaint against van Scheppingen.

The pair were both training under him when the older brother moved in with van Scheppingen and his family in 2009 after rising tensions in his own home. However, it would lead ultimately to the crime being committed by van Scheppingen, with it happening during training sessions and international tournaments.

The younger brother, who was 10-years younger than his sibling, was also coached by the Dutchman some years later. The sexual assault on the boy was when he was still a minor.

Van Scheppingen was a former professional tennis player who reached a high ranking of 72nd back in September 2004. He spent several years in the top 100 before making the executive decision to move away from playing the sport in favour of a coaching role. 

In court, the judge was not sympathetic to van Scheppingen, with him being found guilty of sexual assault, rape indecent of a minor. "The court takes a very serious view of you for abusing your position as a tennis coach," the presiding judge told Van Scheppingen. "The victims looked up to you because you were a very successful tennis player in the past."

It turns out that the victims heavily relied on van Scheppingen. According to the court, the Dutchman exploited their perilous condition. "The victims felt that rejecting his sexual advances would have far-reaching, if not disastrous, consequences for the course and outcome of their tennis careers and their funding."

The Dutch Tennis Association (KNLTB) have also issued a disciplinary measure against van Scheppingen. This means he is no longer allowed to visit the associations's locations or courts, even after his eight-year ban from coaching comes to an end.