Bruges (Brussels Morning Newspaper) – The former director of Hemelsdaele primary school in Bruges, convicted of embezzling between 181,000 and 250,000 euros, was sentenced to 6 months suspended jail and fined 1,600 euros. He must repay 96,000 euros.
As VRT News reported, on Wednesday, May 14, 2025, the court found the former director of Hemelsdaele Primary School in Bruges guilty of stealing money from the school. The judge sentenced him to a 6-month suspended jail sentence, considering the long period of embezzlement and the breach of trust involved. The court also imposed a fine of 1,600 euros.
The judge described the facts as “highly reprehensible,” though they took into account his clean criminal record as a mitigating factor. The man was ordered to repay the remaining 96,000 euros to the non-profit organisation Scholengroep Katholiek Onderwijs Brugge en Ommeland, which oversees the school. Officials mentioned that this repayment was part of the court’s effort to ensure restitution for the embezzled funds.
How did the former director of Hemelsdaele school steal over €250K?
For more than 7 years, the former director of Hemelsdaele Primary School in Bruges stole money from the school. He took between 181,000 and 250,000 euros. The man was the director since 2010 and started stealing in 2013.
He moved 85,000 euros from a school account for a European program to his account. He also stole 96,000 euros in cash from childcare and cookie sales. This money was never put in the bank. He also used school money to buy things for himself.
The fraud was found in 2020. After a full check, he was found guilty of fraud and stealing money. He had paid back some of the money already. The court told him to pay back all the money that was stolen. He got a 6-month jail sentence, but it was suspended. He won’t have to go to jail unless he does something wrong again during a certain time.
In 2020, when the embezzlement became public, the former director of Hemelsdaele Primary School resigned from his position. Since then, he has taken up another job elsewhere. During the legal proceedings, the prosecutor, Schepens, requested a 12-month suspended prison sentence for the man, citing breach of trust and forgery as the main charges.
The defence, however, pushed for the suspension of any prison time. When allowed to speak, the man defended his actions by blaming the school board. He claimed that for all the years he served as director, he was never properly instructed on how to manage the funds from childcare services, nor was he informed that the money needed to be booked or recorded. However, when asked about what he had done with the money, he did not explain.
