AMSTERDAM — The Netherlands government has announced it continues investigating the local porn industry, after a series of abuse allegations involving photographer and self-styled “model scout” Daniël van der W.

According to a June report by Dutch news source De Volkskrant, for 20 years van der W.  hired models from central and eastern Europe, particularly Czech women, allegedly to produce adult content in the Netherlands.

De Volkskrant reported the women had been “forced” to work for van der W., and the outlet also characterized the allegations as “exploitation” and “trafficking.”

The same outlet reported this week that the government conducted an investigation into alleged “abuses in the porn world” in 2023, but the conclusion at the time was that the police and the Public Prosecution Service were not aware of any official charges.

After the June report, which alleged that van der W. “recruited hundreds of women, mainly from the Czech Republic, for the production of porn and forced prostitution over a period of twenty years,” the cabinet now confirmed the investigation is ongoing.

Opposition MP Harmen Krul used the “disgusting incompatibility” between the 2023 investigation and the report to lambast the government.

“It has now become apparent that such abuses also occur in the Dutch environment,” Krul said, “while the minister had previously vehemently denied this.”

Minister of Justice David van Weel said he will instruct the WODC, the research centre of his office, to conduct a more in-depth investigation into possible abuses.

The investigation into the local adult industry is being framed alongside a tightening of sex work laws in the country, with the new cabinet favoring raising the age for legal prostitution from 18 to 21.