A 47-year-old prison guard has been arrested on suspicion of sexually abusing at least three female prisoners in Nieuwersluis jail.

The man, who has been remanded in custody for 14 days, is accused of abusing three women between 2010 and 2016.

The case came to light when one of the women made a formal police report in May 2021. She claims the guard entered her cell several times over a three year period, showed her his sexual organs and, on occasion, urinated on her.

Since then, several other victims have either come forward or been identified, the Volkskrant reported.

The Nieuwersluis prison dates from the 19th century and is one of just three in the Netherlands for women only.