Dutch singer Marco Borsato is to face charges of sexually assaulting a minor, the public prosecution department, which did not name the singer, said on Wednesday. 

According to the Telegraaf, the woman at the centre of the allegations, is the daughter of a family friend who worked for Borsato and had known her since childhood.

The singer, now 56, first assaulted the woman when she was 15 and it continued until 2019, when the girl’s mother read her diary and confronted him, the paper said.

The woman, now 23 or 24, made a formal complaint against Borsato in December 2021 after receiving psychological help. In all, the touching took place over a five year period.

Borsato is said to have reacted with disappointment to news of the public prosecution department’s decision. 

His lawyer Geert-Jan Knoops said 29 witness statements will show that Borsato is not guilty of sexual assault. These have been ignored by the prosecution office which is “incomprehensible”, Knoops said. 

In 2021, Borsato accused the woman and her mother of making false accusations, libel and slander against him.

Voice of Holland

The case is not connected to accusations made against Borsato in the Voice of Holland scandal, in which he was accused of sexual harassment. Those charges were later dropped. 

The scandal was broken by YouTube programme Boos in January last year, in which dozens of young women linked to the show said they had been harassed by coaches Ali B and Marco Borsato and band leader Jeroen Rietbergen. 

In March, the public prosecution department said Ali B and Rietbergen would face sex crime charges but Borsato would not because of a lack of evidence.

As yet no court date has been set.