Former detective Leon S. (41) from the Brabant town of Rijen appears to be the linchpin in a major child prostitution scandal surrounding the years-long abuse of several teenage girls.

S. posed as a woman on chat site Tagged.com, under the pseudonym "Steffie. He convinced the girls that they could earn a lot of money by working for a so-called friend of his as a photo model or by having sex with that man.

In reality S. then gave his own name and phone number on the chat site. The girls from Gilze-Rijen, Eindhoven, Tilburg and Belgium, many of whom had money worries and/or psychological problems, contacted S. after which an appointment was made.

The Brabant ex-detective had sex several times himself with the teenage girls and arranged contact with other men as a pimp. The sex took place in cars, among other places. The victims also participated in sex parties with several people.

The investigators began investigating S. when one of his victims spoke out to investigators about the former detective's practices.

S. has been charged with child prostitution, human trafficking and sexual abuse. According to insiders, he has made a partial confession. Serge Weening, S.'s attorney, would not comment.

The defendant(s) in this case are assisted by: