Michèle Martin
   HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

Marc Paul Alain Dutroux (; born 6 November 1956) is a Belgian convicted
serial killer A serial killer (also called a serial murderer) is a person who murders three or more people,An offender can be anyone: * * * * * (This source only requires two people) with the killings taking place over a significant period of time in separat ...
,
serial rapist A serial rapist is someone who commits multiple rapes, whether with multiple victims or a single victim repeatedly over a period of time. Some serial rapists target children. The terms ''sexual predator'', ''repeat rape'' and ''multiple offending' ...
, and
child molester Child sexual abuse (CSA), also called child molestation, is a form of child abuse in which an adult or older adolescent uses a child for sexual stimulation. Forms of child sexual abuse include engaging in sexual activities with a child (whet ...
. Initially convicted for the abduction and
rape Rape is a type of sexual assault involving sexual intercourse, or other forms of sexual penetration, carried out against a person without consent. The act may be carried out by physical force, coercion, abuse of authority, or against a person ...
of five young girls in 1989, Dutroux was released on
parole Parole, also known as provisional release, supervised release, or being on paper, is a form of early release of a prisoner, prison inmate where the prisoner agrees to abide by behavioral conditions, including checking-in with their designated ...
after just three years' imprisonment. He was arrested again in 1996 on suspicion of having abducted,
torture Torture is the deliberate infliction of severe pain or suffering on a person for reasons including corporal punishment, punishment, forced confession, extracting a confession, interrogational torture, interrogation for information, or intimid ...
d, and
sexually abused Sexual abuse or sex abuse is abusive sexual behavior by one person upon another. It is often perpetrated using physical force, or by taking advantage of another. It often consists of a persistent pattern of sexual assaults. The offender is r ...
six girls aged between 8 and 19, four of whom were killed. Dutroux's widely publicized trial ended with his conviction on all charges in 2004; he was subsequently sentenced to
life imprisonment Life imprisonment is any sentence (law), sentence of imprisonment under which the convicted individual is to remain incarcerated for the rest of their natural life (or until pardoned or commuted to a fixed term). Crimes that result in life impr ...
. Dutroux's accomplices included his wife, Michelle Martin; Michel Lelièvre; Michel Nihoul; and Bernard Weinstein. Martin was convicted and sentenced to thirty years in prison, while Lelièvre was sentenced to twenty-five years. Nihoul, "a
Brussels Brussels, officially the Brussels-Capital Region, (All text and all but one graphic show the English name as Brussels-Capital Region.) is a Communities, regions and language areas of Belgium#Regions, region of Belgium comprising #Municipalit ...
businessman,
pub A pub (short for public house) is in several countries a drinking establishment licensed to serve alcoholic drinks for consumption on the premises. The term first appeared in England in the late 17th century, to differentiate private ho ...
-owner and familiar face at sex parties," was initially tried as an accomplice to the kidnappings but was
acquitted In common law jurisdictions, an acquittal means that the criminal prosecution has failed to prove that the accused is guilty beyond a reasonable doubt of the charge presented. It certifies that the accused is free from the charge of an o ...
owing to insufficient evidence; he was instead convicted of involvement in a gang that participated in
human Humans (''Homo sapiens'') or modern humans are the most common and widespread species of primate, and the last surviving species of the genus ''Homo''. They are Hominidae, great apes characterized by their Prehistory of nakedness and clothing ...
and
drug trafficking A drug is any chemical substance other than a nutrient or an essential dietary ingredient, which, when administered to a living organism, produces a biological effect. Consumption of drugs can be via inhalation, injection, smoking, ingestion, ...
, and was sentenced to five years in prison. Weinstein was never tried as he was murdered by Dutroux before being identified as an accomplice. The lenient result of Dutroux's first
prosecution A prosecutor is a legal representative of the prosecution in states with either the adversarial system, which is adopted in common law, or inquisitorial system, which is adopted in Civil law (legal system), civil law. The prosecution is the ...
, as well as shortcomings on the part of the police in investigating his murders, caused widespread discontent in Belgium with the country's
criminal justice system Criminal justice is the delivery of justice to those who have been accused of committing crimes. The criminal justice system is a series of government agencies and institutions. Goals include the rehabilitation of offenders, preventing other ...
, resulting in the complete reorganisation of Belgium's law enforcement agencies. In the
White March The White March (; ; ) was a demonstration in Brussels on 20 October 1996 after serial killer and criminal Marc Dutroux was arrested. The demonstrators wanted better protection for children and a better functioning justice system that could inv ...
held on 20 October 1996, 300,000 Belgian citizens protested the mishandling of the case.


Early life

Marc Dutroux was born in
Ixelles (French language, French, ) or (Dutch language, Dutch, ) is one of the List of municipalities of the Brussels-Capital Region, 19 municipalities of the Brussels-Capital Region, Belgium. Located to the south-east of Pentagon (Brussels), Brusse ...
,
Brussels Brussels, officially the Brussels-Capital Region, (All text and all but one graphic show the English name as Brussels-Capital Region.) is a Communities, regions and language areas of Belgium#Regions, region of Belgium comprising #Municipalit ...
, on 6 November 1956 to Victor Dutroux and Jeanine Lauwens. He is the eldest of five children. Dutroux spent part of his early childhood in
Burundi Burundi, officially the Republic of Burundi, is a landlocked country in East Africa. It is located in the Great Rift Valley at the junction between the African Great Lakes region and Southeast Africa, with a population of over 14 million peop ...
, then part of the
Belgian Congo The Belgian Congo (, ; ) was a Belgian colonial empire, Belgian colony in Central Africa from 1908 until independence in 1960 and became the Republic of the Congo (Léopoldville). The former colony adopted its present name, the Democratic Repu ...
, where his father worked as a teacher. After Burundi gained independence in mid-1962, Dutroux's family moved back to Belgium and settled in the village of Obaix in
Hainaut Province Hainaut ( , also , ; ; ; ; ), historically also known as Heynault in English, is the westernmost province of Wallonia, the French-speaking region of Belgium. To its south lies the French department of Nord, while within Belgium it borders ...
. Dutroux later reported to have been
abused Abuse is the act of improper usage or treatment of a person or thing, often to unfairly or improperly gain benefit. Abuse can come in many forms, such as: physical or verbal maltreatment, injury, assault, violation, rape, unjust practices, ...
by his mother and father. In 1972, Dutroux's parents separated and his father left the family home. Shortly after graduating from school, Dutroux left home himself and made his living as an
electrician An electrician is a tradesman, tradesperson specializing in electrical wiring of buildings, transmission lines, stationary machines, and related equipment. Electricians may be employed in the installation of new electrical components or the ...
. Several years later, in 1976, Dutroux married Françoise Dubois, with whom he had two children. The marriage was marred by Dutroux's abusive behaviour towards his family; the couple would divorce in 1983, with Françoise keeping custody of the children.


Early criminal activity (1979–1989)

During the late 1970s, Dutroux found new employment as a scrap dealer and supplemented his income by stealing car parts. From 1979 onward he was convicted for a variety of petty offences including
assault In the terminology of law, an assault is the act of causing physical harm or consent, unwanted physical contact to another person, or, in some legal definitions, the threat or attempt to do so. It is both a crime and a tort and, therefore, may ...
,
drug dealing The illegal drug trade, drug trafficking, or narcotrafficking is a global black market dedicated to the cultivation, manufacture, distribution and sale of prohibited drugs. Most jurisdictions prohibit trade, except under license, of many types ...
, and trading stolen vehicles. Meanwhile, he regularly visited
ice skating Ice skating is the Human-powered transport, self-propulsion and gliding of a person across an ice surface, using metal-bladed ice skates. People skate for various reasons, including recreation (fun), exercise, competitive sports, and commuting. ...
rinks in
Charleroi Charleroi (, , ; ) is a city and a municipality of Wallonia, located in the province of Hainaut, Belgium. It is the largest city in both Hainaut and Wallonia. The city is situated in the valley of the Sambre, in the south-west of Belgium, not ...
,
Forest A forest is an ecosystem characterized by a dense ecological community, community of trees. Hundreds of definitions of forest are used throughout the world, incorporating factors such as tree density, tree height, land use, legal standing, ...
, and Montignies-sur-Sambre, where he would deliberately trip or bump into young female skaters in order to touch them. In October 1980, Dutroux visited a Charleroi skating rink and got into a physical altercation with another patron, Armand de Beyn, after repeatedly colliding with De Beyn's girlfriend. A court case ended with De Beyn being convicted of assault and battery against Dutroux, although Dutroux was banned from the Charleroi skating rink. One of his mistresses was Michelle Martin, whom he later married and with whom he had three more children.


Initial rapes (1985–1989)

On 14 December 1985, Dutroux abducted Axelle D. During her testimony, she told the police that Dutroux's accomplice Peteghem had told her that "he was part of a gang" led by two gang leaders, "an Italian and a crazy stupid one." Jean van Peteghem admitted to having taken part in the abduction. He said he had abducted Axelle D. with Marc Dutroux and Michelle Martin. He had lived with Dutroux after being discharged from the military and having his marriage fail. Peteghem told police that his and Dutroux's first victims were two girls from
Morlanwelz Morlanwelz (; ) is a municipality of Wallonia located in the province of Hainaut, Belgium. On 1 January 2006 Morlanwelz had a total population of 18,595. The total area is 20.26 km2 which gives a population density of 918 inhabitants per km2 ...
. These two victims were never located by police. On 7 June 1985, the first proven abduction by the two took place, the abduction of eleven-year-old Sylvie D. On 17 October 1985 the pair abducted Maria V., 19, from Peronnes-lez-Binche. Maria V. also identified a third man who took part in her abduction and appeared to be in his fifties. This man was never found by police. On 17 January 1986, Catherine B., aged 18, was abducted from Obaix in
Hainaut Province Hainaut ( , also , ; ; ; ; ), historically also known as Heynault in English, is the westernmost province of Wallonia, the French-speaking region of Belgium. To its south lies the French department of Nord, while within Belgium it borders ...
. Dutroux had one or two accomplices in her abduction who were never found by police. Peteghem was stationed as army personnel in Germany during that time and could not have assisted Dutroux. On 18 December 1985, Dutroux abducted Élisabeth G., 15, in
Pont-à-Celles Pont-à-Celles (; ) is a municipality of Wallonia located in the province of Hainaut, Belgium. On January 1, 2018, Pont-à-Celles had a total population of 17,287. The total area is 55.73 km2 which gives a population density of 310 inhabita ...
. Peteghem told police that Dutroux filmed Élisabeth naked and took pictures of her. At the beginning of February 1986, Martin, Dutroux and Peteghem were arrested. This had to a large extent been due to Peteghem giving out a lot of information about himself in conversations with the girls, which had been enough for police to identify him. The three were eventually convicted on 26 April 1989. Dutroux received 13 years. Peteghem received 6 years and Martin received 5 years. Dutroux received a harsher sentence because he had also committed several robberies with Peteghem. Dutroux was thus additionally convicted for the brutal robbery of a 58-year-old woman. The robbery was also committed with accomplices. One of the accomplices in this robbery was also never found by police. The early release of Dutroux was granted by
Melchior Wathelet Melchior H. M. J. F. C. Wathelet (born 6 March 1949) is a Belgian politician and member of the Humanist Democratic Centre who served as 4th Minister-President of Wallonia. He has degrees in law and in economics (University of Liège) and is a ...
, who was at that time the Belgian minister of justice; Dutroux's release was ordered against the advice of both the public prosecutor and the psychiatrist who had examined him in prison, who stated that Dutroux remained extremely dangerous.


Granting Dutroux state assistance, sleeping pills and sedatives

While in jail, Dutroux managed to convince a health professional that he was disabled due to mental illnesses. That way, he was able to collect public assistance consisting of $1,200 a month from the Belgian government. He also convinced the professionals that he needed sedatives for sleeping problems. Dutroux later went on to use them to sedate his victims. He owned seven small houses, most of them vacant, and used three of them for the torture of the girls he kidnapped. Although he owned several houses, his state assistance stipend was not reduced. In his residence in
Marcinelle Marcinelle (; ) is a town of Wallonia and a district of the municipality of Charleroi, located in the Hainaut Province, province of Hainaut, Belgium. Until 1977, it was a municipality of its own. The town of Marcinelle is renowned as the home ...
, he constructed a concealed dungeon in the basement. Dutroux has been described by
psychiatrist A psychiatrist is a physician who specializes in psychiatry. Psychiatrists are physicians who evaluate patients to determine whether their symptoms are the result of a physical illness, a combination of physical and mental ailments or strictly ...
s who examined him for trial as a
psychopath Psychopathy, or psychopathic personality, is a personality Construct (psychology), construct characterized by impaired empathy and remorse, along with boldness, bold, disinhibited, and egocentrism, egocentric traits. These traits are often ma ...
.


Crimes after release

On 24 June 1995, eight-year-old classmates Julie Lejeune and Mélissa Russo were kidnapped after going for a walk in
Grâce-Hollogne Grâce-Hollogne (; ) is a municipality of Wallonia located in the province of Liège, Belgium. The municipality is effectively a part of the greater Liège conurbation, separated from Liège city centre by the municipality of Saint-Nicolas. Inc ...
, probably by Dutroux, and taken to his house in
Marcinelle Marcinelle (; ) is a town of Wallonia and a district of the municipality of Charleroi, located in the Hainaut Province, province of Hainaut, Belgium. Until 1977, it was a municipality of its own. The town of Marcinelle is renowned as the home ...
. Dutroux kept them imprisoned in the dungeon he had created, repeatedly sexually abused them and produced
child pornography Child pornography (also abbreviated as CP, also called child porn or kiddie porn, and child sexual abuse material, known by the acronym CSAM (underscoring that children can not be deemed willing participants under law)), is Eroticism, erotic ma ...
videos of the abuse. Two months later, in the early hours of 23 August in
Ostend Ostend ( ; ; ; ) is a coastal city and municipality in the province of West Flanders in the Flemish Region of Belgium. It comprises the boroughs of Mariakerke, Raversijde, Stene and Zandvoorde, and the city of Ostend proper – the la ...
, Dutroux and accomplice Michel Lelièvre kidnapped An Marchal and Eefje Lambrecks, two teenage girls from
Hasselt Hasselt (, , ) is the capital and largest City status in Belgium, city of the Provinces of Belgium, province of Limburg (Belgium), Limburg in the Flemish Region of Belgium. As of 1 August 2023, Hasselt had a total population of 80,846. The old ...
who were on their way back to their holiday home in
Westende Westende is a town in Flanders, one of the three regions of Belgium, and in the Flemish province of West Flanders. It lies on the Belgian coast, also called the Flemish coast. It used to be the far west (West-ende: Dutch for west-end) of the is ...
following a night out in
Blankenberge Blankenberge (; ; ) is a seaside Municipalities of Belgium, municipality and City status in Belgium, city in the Belgium, Belgian province of West Flanders. The municipality comprises the town of Blankenberge proper and the settlement of Uitke ...
. With Lejeune and Russo already in the dungeon, Lambrecks and Marchal were kept in chains in a bedroom. In September, according to Martin, Lambrecks and Marchal were drugged and brought to
Jumet Jumet () is a town of Wallonia and a district of the municipality of Charleroi, located in the province of Hainaut, Belgium. It was a municipality of its own before the merger of the municipalities in 1977. Church of Saint-Sulpice, Jumet is ...
, where Dutroux and accomplice Bernard Weinstein killed them by burying them alive. Around the time of Lambrecks's and Marchal's deaths, Weinstein and a man named Philippe Divers stole a van and hid it in a
hangar A hangar is a building or structure designed to hold aircraft or spacecraft. Hangars are built of metal, wood, or concrete. The word ''hangar'' comes from Middle French ''hanghart'' ("enclosure near a house"), of Germanic origin, from Frankish ...
; after it was found there by the hangar's owner, it was taken away by the police. Dutroux and Weinstein suspected that Divers and his friend Pierre Rochow had betrayed them, and on the night of 4 November, wishing to interrogate them about the van, Dutroux and Weinstein lured Divers and Rochow into Weinstein's home in Jumet and drugged and sequestered them, before leaving to go to Rochow's house to search for clues about the van. There they found Rochow's girlfriend, Bénédicte Jadot, whom they took with them back to Jumet and questioned, before leaving again to pick up another person. While they were away, Jadot escaped and alerted a neighbour, who called the police. With Weinstein wanted by police, Dutroux decided to kill him to prevent his capture. He kidnapped Weinstein and held him in the dungeon at his house in Marcinelle between 13 and 20 November. During this time, he let Lejeune and Russo roam freely around the house. After feeding him food laced with
Rohypnol Flunitrazepam, sold under the brand name Rohypnol among others, is a benzodiazepine used to treat severe insomnia and assist with anesthesia. As with other hypnotics, flunitrazepam has been advised to be prescribed only for short-term use or by ...
, Dutroux placed
hose clamp A hose clamp is a device used to attach and seal a hose (tubing), hose onto a fitting such as a barb (hose), barb or nipple (plumbing), nipple. Materials The core range of hose clamps on the open market are made from materials like stainles ...
s around Weinstein's testicles until Weinstein told him where his money was hidden. Dutroux then buried Weinstein alive on his (Dutroux's) property in
Sars-la-Buissière Sars-la-Buissière () is a village of Wallonia and a district in the municipality of Lobbes, located in the province of Hainaut, Belgium. History The village was the site of the discovery of the bodies of three murder victims killed by notorious ...
. On 6 December 1995, Dutroux, having been recognised by Rochow, was arrested for vehicle theft. According to Dutroux and Martin, Lejeune and Russo were still alive in the house at the time of Dutroux's arrest in December 1995, and Dutroux had ordered Martin to leave new food and water for the girls in the dungeon each time they ran out. Martin neglected to feed them, later claiming she was too afraid to go into the dungeon.Van Heeswyck, Marie-Jeanne; Bulté, Annemie; De Coninck, Douglas; ''The X-Dossiers'', 1999. Lejeune and Russo eventually starved to death. Dutroux initially stated that they were still alive when he returned home following his release from prison on 20 March 1996; according to him, Lejeune died that day, and Russo followed suit four days later despite his efforts to save her; during his trial, he said they were already dead when he returned from prison. An expert asserted that they would not have been able to survive the entire time Dutroux was in prison on the total amount of food and water they were said to have been given. Dutroux buried Lejeune and Russo's bodies in the garden of the house he owned in Sars-la-Buissière, near to that of Weinstein. On the morning of 28 May 1996, Dutroux and Lelièvre kidnapped 12-year-old
Sabine Dardenne Sabine Anne Renée Ghislaine Dardenne (born 28 October 1983) is a Belgian author. She was kidnapped at the age of twelve by the child molester and serial killer Marc Dutroux in 1996. Dardenne was one of Dutroux's last two victims. She and fello ...
, who was cycling to school in
Tournai Tournai ( , ; ; ; , sometimes Anglicisation (linguistics), anglicised in older sources as "Tournay") is a city and Municipalities in Belgium, municipality of Wallonia located in the Hainaut Province, Province of Hainaut, Belgium. It lies by ...
. In a book originally published under the title ''J'avais 12 ans, j'ai pris mon vélo et je suis partie à l'école'' (and published in the United Kingdom under the title ''I Choose to Live''), Dardenne described her time in captivity in Dutroux's Marcinelle home, where she spent most of the time imprisoned in the dungeon and was starved and repeatedly raped by Dutroux. On 9 August 1996, Dutroux and Lelièvre kidnapped 14-year-old Laëtitia Delhez as she was walking home from her local swimming pool in
Bertrix Wanlin (; ) is a municipality of Wallonia located in the province of Luxembourg, Belgium. On 1 January 2007 the municipality, which covers 137.7 km², had 8,164 inhabitants, giving a population density of 59.3 inhabitants per km². Bertri ...
. An eyewitness, Benoit Tinant, who greatly helped the search and thus Dutroux's arrest, observed Dutroux's van, described it and was able to identify part of the
license plate A vehicle registration plate, also known as a number plate (British, Indian and Australian English), license plate (American English) or licence plate (Canadian English), is a metal or plastic plate attached to a motor vehicle or trailer for ...
. On 13 August 1996, Dutroux, Martin and Lelièvre were arrested. An initial search of Dutroux's houses proved inconclusive, but two days later, Dutroux and Lelièvre both made confessions. That same day, Dutroux led the police to the basement dungeon inside which Dardenne and Delhez were imprisoned; the girls were subsequently rescued. On 17 August 1996, Dutroux led police to his house in Sars-la-Buissière and, with his help, they were able to locate and exhume the bodies of Lejeune, Russo and Weinstein. On 3 September, the remains of Marchal and Lambrecks were located and exhumed in
Jumet Jumet () is a town of Wallonia and a district of the municipality of Charleroi, located in the province of Hainaut, Belgium. It was a municipality of its own before the merger of the municipalities in 1977. Church of Saint-Sulpice, Jumet is ...
. Hundreds of commercial adult pornographic videos, along with a large number of home-made sex films that Dutroux had made with Martin, were recovered from his properties.


Errors during investigation

Heavy criticism was levelled against the police for their handling of the case. In 1995, Dutroux's mother wrote a letter to the authorities stating that she knew that Dutroux had kidnapped two girls and was keeping them at his house. After Lejeune and Russo were kidnapped in June 1995, it took police 14 months to arrest Dutroux, although he had been a prime suspect from the start, having committed similar crimes before. During the search for Lejeune and Russo, police visited Dutroux's house, where Lejeune and Russo were held, twice, on 13 and 19 December 1995 without finding them. During the course of the searches, girls' voices were heard while searching the cellar, but police did not follow up to find the source of the voices. Detectives accepted Dutroux's claim that the ongoing construction in his house was for a new drainage system, rather than for the new cells he was creating. Several videotapes found during the search were never looked at. Some of them showed Dutroux constructing the dungeon in which Lejeune and Russo were held. Michel Bourlet, who was appointed lead investigator, said that some of the videotapes had disappeared and that he wanted to have them all recovered and reviewed. The officer conducting the search was later promoted. In October 1996, judge Jean-Marc Connerotte was removed from the investigation by the Supreme Court due to concerns about his impartiality after he attended a fund-raising dinner for the victims' families. Another judge, Jean-Claude Van Espen, resigned after his close relationship with Michel Nihoul came to light. On 23 April 1998, Dutroux was allowed to view his case files. He was accompanied by two police officers. When one officer went on a break, Dutroux overpowered the other officer and was able to escape. He was captured a few hours later. The Minister of Justice, Stefaan De Clerck, the Minister of the Interior,
Johan Vande Lanotte Johan Cyrille Corneel Vande Lanotte (born 6 July 1955) is a Belgian politician. He is a member of the SP.A, and became its party president on 15 October 2005. He handed down his leadership positions after the SP.A lost in the 2007 general elec ...
, and the police chief resigned as a result. In 2000, Dutroux received a five-year sentence for threatening a police officer during his escape. In 2002, he received another five-year sentence for unrelated crimes. There were countless hairs found in the dungeon where the two girls were held. Judge Langlois refused to have them tested for DNA evidence even though the leading police investigator, Michel Bourlet, had begged him to have them analyzed in order to know whether more people besides Dutroux were involved. The general prosecutor of the case, Anne Thily told investigative journalist Olenka Frenkiel that all hairs had been tested, though Frenkiel claimed to have heard from sources saying otherwise, writing, "How can such a senior figure lie so brazenly?" At least seven members of law enforcement were arrested on suspicion of having ties to Marc Dutroux. One of them was Georges Zico, a police detective believed to be an associate of Dutroux. According to prosecutor Michel Bourlet, Zico was charged with truck theft, document forgery and insurance fraud. Eventually several families of victims boycotted the official trial, stating that it was a circus and there had been no progress in the case since the removal of judge Connerotte. The investigation was also complicated by rivalry between different law enforcement bodies. Both the
Gendarmerie A gendarmerie () is a paramilitary or military force with law enforcement duties among the civilian population. The term ''gendarme'' () is derived from the medieval French expression ', which translates to " men-at-arms" (). In France and so ...
and the Judicial Police carried out their own investigations, and both groups wanted to be the first to solve the case. In particular, the Gendarmerie refused to share tip-offs and information with the Judicial Police: most notably one from an informer that named Dutroux as a suspect and even described a hidden space that Dutroux had constructed in the basement of one of the houses he owned.


Statements by Senator Anne-Marie Lizin

Belgian Senator Anne-Marie Lizin commented on the case, saying: "Stupidity (by the police) can't be the only explanation. It's a question of stupidity, incompetence and corruption. Dutroux must be a friend of somebody important. Or else he was being protected because he was known to be a police informant." Lizin said Dutroux was not a true pedophile, as he has been portrayed. He had a record of dealing in stolen cars, selling arms to hoodlums and trafficking in prostitution. ''"''When he discovered that men paid a lot more for little girls for prostitution, he started kidnapping them'',"'' she said. When Dutroux finally was arrested, police found in his house video films of him raping little girls. They said he did this so he could sell the films to pedophiles''.''


Attempts to have access to Dutroux Dossier from WikiLeaks blocked in Belgium

In 2009,
WikiLeaks WikiLeaks () is a non-profit media organisation and publisher of leaked documents. It is funded by donations and media partnerships. It has published classified documents and other media provided by anonymous sources. It was founded in 2006 by ...
published the Dutroux Dossier. Belgian authorities tried to have the dossier taken down. The prosecutor general of Liege, Cedric Visart de Bocarme, said, "There is some true, some false, some very disparate information here, involving some people who have done nothing wrong, who have simply been mentioned in an investigation and are thus exposed to public contempt, whereas all this material should have remained classified."


Parliamentary investigation and escape from custody

A 17-month inquiry by a parliamentary commission into the Dutroux affair produced a report in February 1998, which concluded that while Dutroux did not have accomplices in high positions in the police and justice systems, as he continued to claim, he profited from
corruption Corruption is a form of dishonesty or a criminal offense that is undertaken by a person or an organization that is entrusted in a position of authority to acquire illicit benefits or abuse power for one's gain. Corruption may involve activities ...
, sloppiness and incompetence.
Marc Verwilghen Marc Ernest Elisabeth Robert Juliette Verwilghen (born 21 September 1952) is a Belgian politician. Verwilghen studied law at the Vrije Universiteit Brussel and the University of Ghent and is the holder of an honorary doctorate from Ghent. A me ...
, the chairman of the inquiry sharply criticized every aspect of the investigation.


Public outcry

In October 1996, more than 300,000 Belgians marched through the streets of Brussels after judge Jean-Marc Connerotte was removed from the case. He was removed for attending a fundraising dinner for the families of the victims, which the court system claimed damaged his impartiality. They demanded an investigation and reform of the police and justice system. The protest was called the "
White March The White March (; ; ) was a demonstration in Brussels on 20 October 1996 after serial killer and criminal Marc Dutroux was arrested. The demonstrators wanted better protection for children and a better functioning justice system that could inv ...
". Protesters were wearing signs that said "Stop the cover-up". To protest the prospect of a conditional release of Dutroux, a "Black March" was organised on the 23rd anniversary of the "
White March The White March (; ; ) was a demonstration in Brussels on 20 October 1996 after serial killer and criminal Marc Dutroux was arrested. The demonstrators wanted better protection for children and a better functioning justice system that could inv ...
". The calls to take part in the march were made after it was made public that a court had approved the request for conditional release of Michel Lelièvre, who was an accomplice of Dutroux and had received a 25-year sentence. ''
The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in Manchester in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'' and changed its name in 1959, followed by a move to London. Along with its sister paper, ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardi ...
'' reported in 2004 that "the entire credibility of the current reformist government of
Guy Verhofstadt Guy Maurice Marie Louise Verhofstadt (; ; born 11 April 1953) is a Belgian politician who served as the prime minister of Belgium from 1999 to 2008. He was a member of the European Parliament (MEP) from Belgium from 2009 until 2024. He was a me ...
and Belgium's very reputation as a normal civilised country is on the line." The crimes of Marc Dutroux were covered in multiple nonfiction documentaries, one of the earliest being a
British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories and Crown Dependencies. * British national identity, the characteristics of British people and culture ...
public-access TV documentary titled ''Witness: The Lost Children'' (
Channel 4 Channel 4 is a British free-to-air public broadcast television channel owned and operated by Channel Four Television Corporation. It is state-owned enterprise, publicly owned but, unlike the BBC, it receives no public funding and is funded en ...
, 1999, directed by Helen Hill), which was narrated by Stephen Rashbrook and featured interviews with multiple family members of the victims, as well as with Claude Thirault, a next-door neighbour of Dutroux's who had later become a police informant after raising personal suspicions about Dutroux's activities, which had included watching small children from the street, and also being caught digging up under water tanks in an old basement, creating a space where Thirault claimed that Dutroux had planned to use for hiding children in. An episode of '' Crimes That Shook the World'' titled "Monster of Belgium" (Season 2, Episode 9, April 2009) was aired later on by
Discovery Channel Discovery Channel, known as The Discovery Channel from 1985 to 1995, and often referred to as simply Discovery, is an American cable channel that is best known for its ongoing reality television shows and promotion of pseudoscience. It init ...
, bringing
North America North America is a continent in the Northern Hemisphere, Northern and Western Hemisphere, Western hemispheres. North America is bordered to the north by the Arctic Ocean, to the east by the Atlantic Ocean, to the southeast by South Ameri ...
n attention to the Belgium case.


Trial

Dutroux's trial began on 1 March 2004, some seven and a half years after his initial arrest. It was a
trial by jury A jury trial, or trial by jury, is a legal proceeding in which a jury makes a decision or findings of fact. It is distinguished from a bench trial, in which a judge or panel of judges makes all decisions. Jury trials are increasingly used ...
and up to 450 people were called upon to testify. The trial took place in
Arlon Arlon (; ; ; ) is a City status in Belgium, city and Municipalities in Belgium, municipality of Wallonia, and the capital of the Luxembourg (Belgium), province of Luxembourg in the Ardennes, Belgium. With a population of just over 28,000, it ...
, the capital of the Belgian province of Luxembourg, where the investigations had started. Dutroux was tried for the murders of An Marchal, Eefje Lambrecks and Bernard Weinstein. Dutroux was also charged with a host of other crimes: auto theft, abduction,
attempted murder Attempted murder is a crime of attempt in various jurisdictions. Canada Section 239 of the ''Criminal Code'' makes attempted murder punishable by a maximum of life imprisonment. If a gun is used, the minimum sentence is four, five or seve ...
and attempted abduction,
molestation Sexual abuse or sex abuse is abusive sexual behavior by one person upon another. It is often perpetrated using physical force, or by taking advantage of another. It often consists of a persistent pattern of sexual assaults. The offender is r ...
, and three unrelated rapes of women from
Slovakia Slovakia, officially the Slovak Republic, is a landlocked country in Central Europe. It is bordered by Poland to the north, Ukraine to the east, Hungary to the south, Austria to the west, and the Czech Republic to the northwest. Slovakia's m ...
. Martin was tried as an accomplice, as were Lelièvre and Michel Nihoul. To protect the accused, they were made to sit in a glass cage during the trial. In the first week of the trial, photos of Dutroux's face were not allowed to be printed in Belgian newspapers for privacy reasons; this ban remained in force until 9 March. In a rare move, the
jury A jury is a sworn body of people (jurors) convened to hear evidence, make Question of fact, findings of fact, and render an impartiality, impartial verdict officially submitted to them by a court, or to set a sentence (law), penalty or Judgmen ...
at the assizes trial publicly protested the presiding judge Stéphane Goux's handling of the debates and the victims' testimonies. On 14 June 2004, after three months of trial, the jury went into seclusion to reach their verdicts on Dutroux and the three other accused. Verdicts were returned on 17 June 2004 after three days of deliberation. Dutroux, Martin and Lelièvre were found guilty on all charges; the jury were unable to reach a verdict on Nihoul's role.


Dutroux's testimony

Dutroux claimed that he was a low dog in a powerful pedophile network. He further claimed that Michel Nihoul was the organizer of their abductions. While admitting some abductions, he denied being a murderer, although he had earlier confessed to killing Weinstein. He said that he did torture and abuse all of the girls but denied killing any of them until the very end. Dutroux further denied kidnapping, raping and murdering Julie Lejeune and Mélissa Russo. He, however, admitted to incarcerating them at one of his houses. In the case of Lejeune and Russo, Dutroux also claimed that he had "protected them from a powerful and sinister child sex ring." His testimony that he never raped Lejeune and Russo was somewhat supported by examinations by psychiatrists in 1996, which stated that Dutroux did not fit the paedophile profile. He was not attracted to children, but he might have chosen to abduct younger victims because they were easier to manipulate and control. Dutroux admitted to the abduction and rape of the other girls. He also admitted to burying his accomplice, Bernard Weinstein, alive for ''"''letting the girls die." Dutroux further said that two unidentified policemen had taken part with him in the kidnapping of An Marchal and Eefje Lambrecks. He boasted about having built the dungeon in which Marchal and Lambrecks were held for a while. He said: ''"''I wanted to create a hiding place to spare them from being sent to a prostitution ring.''"'' Dutroux admitted to raping Lambrecks. He said that Weinstein had raped Marchal. He also admitted to drugging both of them. Dutroux also admitted that he kidnapped Sabine Dardenne and raped her. He admitted to kidnapping and raping Laetitia Delhez but not handing them over to Nihoul "to spare them the fate of An and Eefje." Dutroux's lawyer, Xavier Magnee, repeatedly said that the prosecution never followed up on evidence of a network surrounding Dutroux.


Michelle Martin's testimony

Martin testified that Dutroux and Weinstein kidnapped Lejeune and Russo. She also said that Dutroux had told her that he had murdered Weinstein. Martin further said that Dutroux and Weinstein had killed Marchal and Lambrecks. She further testified that Lejeune and Russo starved to death in their basement in 1996 while Dutroux was in jail. She claims that she was too scared to descend to the basement. Martin said that Dutroux had already decided to abduct girls in 1985. He had said that it was easier to abduct and rape girls than to start affairs with them. This way he would also have more resources and time to spend on her. So she had to help him with the abductions.


Sentencing

The
death penalty Capital punishment, also known as the death penalty and formerly called judicial homicide, is the state-sanctioned killing of a person as punishment for actual or supposed misconduct. The sentence ordering that an offender be punished in s ...
was abolished in Belgium in 1996. The last execution for common-law crimes was in 1918. However, the majority of Belgians, at the time of the trial, would have supported Dutroux receiving the death penalty. On 22 June 2004, Dutroux received the maximum sentence of
life imprisonment Life imprisonment is any sentence (law), sentence of imprisonment under which the convicted individual is to remain incarcerated for the rest of their natural life (or until pardoned or commuted to a fixed term). Crimes that result in life impr ...
, while Martin received 30 years and Lelièvre 25 years. The jury was asked to go back into seclusion to decide whether or not Nihoul was an accomplice. On 23 June, Dutroux lodged an appeal against his sentence. Although Nihoul was
acquitted In common law jurisdictions, an acquittal means that the criminal prosecution has failed to prove that the accused is guilty beyond a reasonable doubt of the charge presented. It certifies that the accused is free from the charge of an o ...
of
kidnapping Kidnapping or abduction is the unlawful abduction and confinement of a person against their will, and is a crime in many jurisdictions. Kidnapping may be accomplished by use of force or fear, or a victim may be enticed into confinement by frau ...
and
conspiracy A conspiracy, also known as a plot, ploy, or scheme, is a secret plan or agreement between people (called conspirers or conspirators) for an unlawful or harmful purpose, such as murder, treason, or corruption, especially with a political motivat ...
charges, he was convicted on drug-related charges and was sentenced to five years' imprisonment. Nihoul was released in the spring of 2006. He resided in
Zeebrugge Zeebrugge (; from , meaning "Bruges-on-Sea"; , ) is a village on the coast of Belgium and a subdivision of Bruges, for which it is the modern port. Zeebrugge serves as both the international port of Bruges-Zeebrugge and a seafront resort with ...
until his death on 23 October 2019. On 19 August 2012, about 2,000 people in Brussels demonstrated against Martin's possible early release from prison. She has since been
parole Parole, also known as provisional release, supervised release, or being on paper, is a form of early release of a prisoner, prison inmate where the prisoner agrees to abide by behavioral conditions, including checking-in with their designated ...
d, 16 years into her sentence, and was released into the care of the
Poor Clares The Poor Clares, officially the Order of Saint Clare (Latin language, Latin: ''Ordo Sanctae Clarae''), originally referred to as the Order of Poor Ladies, and also known as the Clarisses or Clarissines, the Minoresses, the Franciscan Clarist Or ...
in Malonne. She was given shelter, although she was not part of the community. The sisters have declared that they were not her guardian and shelter was given under the condition that she would not violate the conditions of her parole. As the convent has since been sold, she has had to find new shelter or go back to prison. A former judge has created an apartment in his converted farmhouse, where she now lives. On 4 February 2013, Dutroux requested the court in Brussels for an early release from prison. He insisted that he was "no longer dangerous" and wanted to be released into
house arrest House arrest (also called home confinement, or nowadays electronic monitoring) is a legal measure where a person is required to remain at their residence under supervision, typically as an alternative to imprisonment. The person is confined b ...
with an electronic tag ( ankle bracelet) placed upon him. On 18 February, the court denied his request. Dutroux is currently being held in solitary confinement in the prison of
Nivelles Nivelles (; ; ) is a city and municipality of Wallonia located in the Belgian province of Walloon Brabant. The Nivelles municipality includes the former municipalities of Baulers, Bornival, Thines, and Monstreux. The Nivelles arrondissement ...
. In October 2019, Dutroux won the pre-parole right to a psychiatric assessment, which was supposed to take place in May 2020 but was delayed due to the
COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic (also known as the coronavirus pandemic and COVID pandemic), caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), began with an disease outbreak, outbreak of COVID-19 in Wuhan, China, in December ...
.


Michel Nihoul

Michel Nihoul was a businessman known to frequently attend sex parties. He was accused of being the brains behind the child kidnapping and abuse operation around Dutroux. Nihoul's lawyer in the case, Frederic Clement de Clety, denied all charges made against Nihoul by Dutroux and called him a "liar and manipulator." When the investigative journalist Olenka Frenkiel met Nihoul in Brussels, he reportedly greeted her with the words "I am the monster of Belgium." He told her that he was certain that he would never be prosecuted. During the encounter, he grabbed her, tickled her and pulled her onto him so that she called for her colleagues to help her get away from him. Frenkiel was working on a documentary on the case for the BBC. In 2004, at the end of the Dutroux case trial, he was released of all charges of child abduction. In May 2010, the Belgian prosecutor's office dropped all charges against Nihoul relating to participation in a paedophile ring in the absence of any tangible evidence.


Judges

* Jean-Marc Connerotte (on his initiative two girls were rescued, was removed from the case for attending a fundraising dinner for families) * Jacques Langlois (investigating magistrate). Dutroux case was his first assignment * Stephane Goux (judge presiding over verdict) * Jean-Claude Van Espen (was in charge of the murder investigation of Christine van Hees, resigned from the Dutroux case and the murder investigation around van Hees after his close ties to Michel Nihoul were made public in 1998)


Effects in Belgium

The Dutroux case is so infamous that between 1996 and 1998 over a third of Belgians with the surname "Dutroux" applied for a surname change.


Allegations of wider involvement

Belief in a paedophile network which included high-ranking members of the Belgian establishment and a conspiracy to keep it hidden became widespread in Belgium. Press reports claimed that, prior to his removal, Connerotte was on the verge of publicly disclosing the names of high-level government officials who had been recognized on video-tapes. Connerotte had said that the businessman Michel Nihoul was the brains behind the child kidnapping operation, and would testify in the trial that there had been high-level murder plots to stop his investigation. Investigators also believed that Dutroux and Nihoul were planning on a long-distance prostitution trafficking network involving cars and the import of girls from Slovakia, though no evidence of this was ever uncovered. Dutroux and his fellow accused supported the conspiracy narrative. Michel Lelièvre, the accomplice of Marc Dutroux, said that the two girls, Lejeune and Russo, were kidnapped as an order by a third party. However, while under arrest, Lelièvre stopped cooperating with the authorities. He told police that he had been threatened and could not risk saying any more. Dutroux's lawyer, Xavier Magnée, said during the trial proceedings "I speak not only as a lawyer, but also as a citizen and father. He was not the only devil. Out of the 6000 hair samples that were found in the basement cellar where some of the victims were held, 25 "unknown" DNA profiles were discovered. There were people in that cellar that are not now accused." The prosecution never attempted to match those DNA profiles to people implicated in the case. Focus was also placed on the material wealth of Dutroux, who owned ten houses. He was in total worth 6 million
Belgian franc The Belgian franc was the currency of the Kingdom of Belgium from 1832 until 2002 when the euro was introduced. It was subdivided into 100 subunits, each known as a in Dutch, or in French and German. History The ''gulden'' (guilder) of 20 ''st ...
s (
US$ The United States dollar (Currency symbol, symbol: Dollar sign, $; ISO 4217, currency code: USD) is the official currency of the United States and International use of the U.S. dollar, several other countries. The Coinage Act of 1792 introdu ...
130,000). While he had all of this wealth in property he also received public assistance of $1,200 a month. Documents released by
WikiLeaks WikiLeaks () is a non-profit media organisation and publisher of leaked documents. It is funded by donations and media partnerships. It has published classified documents and other media provided by anonymous sources. It was founded in 2006 by ...
show that large sums of money in different currencies arrived in Michelle Martin's bank account, and claimed to be linked in time to the disappearances of the abducted girls. Both the transfers and the value of the six properties that Dutroux owned suggested to investigators that he was financed by a larger paedophile and prostitution ring. The Flemish newspaper '' Nieuwsblad'' reported that he had committed health-insurance fund fraud, theft, insurance fraud and investments on the stock market and that these had contributed to his wealth. An undated letter was found in a house belonging to Bernard Weinstein, mentioning a gift for the "high priestress". The note was signed "Anubis". A member of the Abraxas cult in
Charleroi Charleroi (, , ; ) is a city and a municipality of Wallonia, located in the province of Hainaut, Belgium. It is the largest city in both Hainaut and Wallonia. The city is situated in the valley of the Sambre, in the south-west of Belgium, not ...
used the same alias, leading police to conduct a raid on the cult headquarters by 150 officers, taking away much of the cult's paraphernalia. No connection to Dutroux was uncovered in the raid, and no evidence that Weinstein had been a satanist or connected to the cult emerged. Stories of human sacrifices and trafficking by the cult were likewise never substantiated. Much attention was given to the so-called X-files, interviews with witnesses who had answered judge Connerotte's appeal to come forward. Witness X1, Régina Louf, told of parties organised by Nihoul that included forced prostitution and murder. She also claimed to have been present at several unsolved murders of girls in the 1980s, and pointed to Dutroux and Nihoul as culprits. The interviews were led by officer De Baets, who came under criticism for leading the witness. In one case, Louf pointing out the wrong photo of a murder victim was noted as a correct identification, since Louf had exhibited a "non-verbal" reaction to the correct photo. Another identified victim was later determined to have been killed by an unrelated individual. De Baets and his team were removed from the case, and the prosecutors dismissed Louf's statements. In 1997, De Baets was charged with falsifying the statements of Louf, but was exonerated from the charges in 1999. Other X witnesses recounted instances where children were chased through the woods with Dobermans, or told of gatherings that involved sex orgies with minors, torture and murder with a
secretary general of NATO The secretary general of NATO is the chief civil servant of the NATO, North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), an intergovernmental military alliance with 32 member states. The officeholder is an international diplomat responsible for coordinat ...
present. Three journalists later wrote a book called ''The X-Files: What Belgium Was Not Supposed to Know About the Dutroux Affair'', that claimed that the X witnesses were much more believable than stated by the media. But it also stated that there had been substantial efforts by the magistrates and senior police officials to demolish the testimony of the X-witnesses. Journalist Olenka Frenkiel claims that more than 20 potential witnesses in the case have died in mysterious circumstances. Frenkiel cites Bruno Tagliaferro as an example, who was found dead after claiming to have knowledge of the abduction vehicle used by Dutroux. Though Tagliaferro's cause of death was ruled as a heart attack, American analysts later determined that he had been poisoned. Frenkiel's article alleges that Tagliaferro's wife, Fabienne Jaupart, who was determined to find her husband's killer, was reportedly found dead as well after her mattress had been set on fire.


Confirmed victims of Dutroux

* Sylvie D., 11, 17 October 1985, abducted and raped. * Maria V., 19, 17 October 1985, abducted and raped. * Élisabeth G., 15, 18 December 1985, abducted and raped. Dutroux took videos and pictures of her. * Axelle D., 14 December 1985, abducted and raped. * Catherine B., 18, 17 January 1986, abducted and raped. * Eva Mackova, 19, July 1994, drugged and raped while on holiday at Dutroux's in Sars-la-Buissière. Dutroux filmed the acts. * Yanka Mackova, 17, July 1996, drugged and raped while on holiday at Dutroux's in Sars-la-Buissière. Dutroux filmed the acts. * Henrieta Palusova, 20, 5 June 1995, abducted and raped in
Topoľčany Topoľčany (; before 1920; ) is a town in the Nitra Region of Slovakia. The population is around 25,000 in total. The town's population is nicknamed ''Žochári'' (singl. ''Žochár'') (producers, or owners of "mosses"). The Nitra River flows t ...
(
Slovakia Slovakia, officially the Slovak Republic, is a landlocked country in Central Europe. It is bordered by Poland to the north, Ukraine to the east, Hungary to the south, Austria to the west, and the Czech Republic to the northwest. Slovakia's m ...
). Dutroux filmed the acts. * Mélissa Russo, 8, 24 June 1995, abducted, raped and imprisoned. Died of starvation and dehydration, found in Sars-la-Buissiere. * Julie Lejeune, 8, 24 June 1995, abducted, raped and imprisoned. Died of starvation and dehydration, found in Sars-la-Buissiere. * An Marchal, 17, 23 August 1995, abducted, imprisoned, and raped. Killed by being buried alive after being wrapped in plastic, found August 1996. * Eefje Lambrecks, 19, 23 August 1995, abducted, imprisoned, and raped. Killed by being buried alive after being wrapped in plastic, found August 1996. * Sabine Dardenne, 12, 28 May 1996, abducted, chained by neck for 80 days, and raped repeatedly. * Laetitia Delhez, 14, 9 August 1996, abducted, chained to a bed, and raped repeatedly.


Dutroux's houses

Marc Dutroux owned seven houses, four of which he used for his kidnappings: * The house on the Avenue de Philippeville 128 in
Marcinelle Marcinelle (; ) is a town of Wallonia and a district of the municipality of Charleroi, located in the Hainaut Province, province of Hainaut, Belgium. Until 1977, it was a municipality of its own. The town of Marcinelle is renowned as the home ...
is most often cited in the media. All victims were held captive here in the basement and bedroom. The municipality of
Charleroi Charleroi (, , ; ) is a city and a municipality of Wallonia, located in the province of Hainaut, Belgium. It is the largest city in both Hainaut and Wallonia. The city is situated in the valley of the Sambre, in the south-west of Belgium, not ...
seized ownership of this house, because of what happened there and the bad state of the house. There are plans to create an open space with a memorial site here. In the Belgian procedure of
compulsory purchase Compulsion, Compulsive, Compelling, or Compulsory may refer to: Psychology * Compulsive behavior, a psychological condition in which a person does a behavior compulsively, having an overwhelming feeling that they must do so. * Obsessive–compu ...
, an owner has the last right to visit a house. Therefore, Dutroux visited this house on 10 September 2009, under heavy police guard. Demolition of this house started at 6 June 2022. A commemorative garden has been built in its place. * A house in
Jumet Jumet () is a town of Wallonia and a district of the municipality of Charleroi, located in the province of Hainaut, Belgium. It was a municipality of its own before the merger of the municipalities in 1977. Church of Saint-Sulpice, Jumet is ...
, that has since been demolished. The remains of An Marchal and Eefje Lambrecks were found buried in the garden of this house. Bernard Weinstein lived in this house for a while. A small monument is placed at this location. * A house in
Marchienne-au-Pont Marchienne-au-Pont (; ) is a town of Wallonia and a district of the municipality of Charleroi, located in the Hainaut Province, province of Hainaut, Belgium. It was a commune in its own right before the merger of communes in 1977, when it had a p ...
. Julie Lejeune and Mélissa Russo were held captive here for a short while after their kidnapping. * A house in
Sars-la-Buissière Sars-la-Buissière () is a village of Wallonia and a district in the municipality of Lobbes, located in the province of Hainaut, Belgium. History The village was the site of the discovery of the bodies of three murder victims killed by notorious ...
. The bodies of Lejeune, Russo and Weinstein were found buried in the garden. The house was bought by the municipality of
Lobbes Lobbes (; ) is a municipality of Wallonia located in the province of Hainaut, Belgium. On 1 January 2006 Lobbes had a total population of 5,499. The total area is 32.08 km2 which gives a population density of 171 inhabitants per km2. The m ...
in the first months of 2009. It is planned to make a park with a monument commemorating Dutroux's victims here. File:Maison Marc Dutroux - Avenue Philippeville 128, Marcinelle - murals.jpg, Murals on a wall opposite the house in Marcinelle. File:Site du maison de Marc Dutroux - Rue Daubresse 63, Jumet.jpg, Location of the house of Dutroux in
Jumet Jumet () is a town of Wallonia and a district of the municipality of Charleroi, located in the province of Hainaut, Belgium. It was a municipality of its own before the merger of the municipalities in 1977. Church of Saint-Sulpice, Jumet is ...
. File:Maison Marc Dutroux - Marchienne-au-Pont.jpg, House owned by Dutroux in
Marchienne-au-Pont Marchienne-au-Pont (; ) is a town of Wallonia and a district of the municipality of Charleroi, located in the Hainaut Province, province of Hainaut, Belgium. It was a commune in its own right before the merger of communes in 1977, when it had a p ...
.


Chronology of the case


Previous crimes

* 26 April 1989 – Marc Dutroux is convicted of the rape of five girls in 1985 and 1986. * 8 April 1992 – Dutroux, owing to the erstwhile Minister of Justice Melchior Wathelet, is released from prison early where he was serving a 13.5-year sentence.


Main crimes and arrests

* 24 June 1995 – The eight-year-old girls Julie Lejeune and Mélissa Russo are abducted in Liège. * 22 August 1995 – The 17-year-old An Marchal and the 19-year-old Eefje Lambrecks are kidnapped in Ostend. * 25 November 1995 – The 43-year-old Bernard Weinstein, a French companion of Dutroux, is killed by Dutroux (presumably on this date). * 13 December 1995 – Following tips from witnesses and Dutroux's mother, Chief Guard René Michaux searches Dutroux's house in Marcinelle. Children's voices are heard, but Michaux believes them to be coming from outside. * 28 May 1996 – 12-year-old Sabine Dardenne is abducted in Kain, Walloon. * 9 August 1996 – Laetitia Delhez, 14, is abducted in Bertrix. * 13 August 1996 – Dutroux, his wife Michelle Martin, and a friend, Michel Lelièvre, are arrested on the basis of witness statements. * 15 August 1996 – Police discovered Sabine Dardenne and Laetitia Delhez, who were hidden in a cell in the basement of Dutroux's house. * 16 August 1996 – Police arrest Michel Nihoul on suspicion of conspiracy. * 17 August 1996 – The bodies of Lejeune and Russo are dug up in the garden of a house that Dutroux owns in Sars-la-Buissière. The girls are found to have died of starvation. The corpse of Bernard Weinstein is also discovered in the same garden. * 18 August 1996 – Dutroux and Lelièvre confess to the kidnapping of Marchal and Lambrecks, but deny that the teenagers were murdered. * 3 September 1996 – The police find the bodies of Marchal and Lambrecks under a shed at Weinstein's house. The two had been buried alive.


Investigation

* 21 September 1996 – Jean-Marc Connerotte, the investigating judge in the Dutroux case, marries his girlfriend of 10 years. Together with their son they visit a benefit meeting for the parents of the disappeared children. At the benefit the family has spaghetti, and Connerotte sits with Michel Bourlet, the attorney at Neufchâteau. Connerotte stays for only an hour and does not speak to Sabine Dardenne. The magistrates receive a fountain pen worth €27 each and their wives a bouquet of flowers. * 15 October 1996 – The so-called "spaghetti judgement" (): the Court of Cassation removes the investigating judge Jean-Marc Connerotte for attending the benefit and receiving two gifts there (the plate of spaghetti and a fountain pen). * 20 October 1996 – The White March. Around 300,000 people demonstrate in Brussels to protest against the delays and errors in the Dutroux investigation. * 24 October 1996 – Concerned that the Dutroux investigation will be mishandled, the Belgian parliament sets up an independent committee to investigate the Dutroux case and the possible procedural errors committed by the Belgian police and judicial authorities. Marc Verwilghen acts as the chairman. * 15 March 1997 – The Dutroux Commission delivers scathing criticism at the police and the Ministry of Justice for miscarrying their investigation into the missing girls. * 6 May 1997 – The Dutroux Commission returns to work and investigates whether Dutroux was protected by people in positions of power. * 15 February 1998 – The committee's second report states that the Dutroux gang did not enjoy protection, but benefited from corruption, carelessness, and a lack of professionalism. * 23 April 1998 – Dutroux escapes from the Neufchâteau courthouse, but is picked up again four hours later in Herbeumont Saint-Médard by ranger Stéphane Michaux. Interior Minister Johan Vande Lanotte and Minister of Justice Stefaan De Clerck offer their resignation on the same day and are succeeded by Louis Tobback and Tony Van Parys, respectively. The head of the government service, Willy Deridder, also resigns. * 14 July 1999 – Hubert Massa, Advocate General in charge of the Dutroux case, commits suicide. * 15 December 1999 – Michel Nihoul is released conditionally due to a lack of evidence. * 15 March 2002 – Investigative Judge Jacques Langlois completes the investigation into the Dutroux case. * 17 January 2003 – The Council Chamber in Neufchâteau decides to bring Dutroux, Martin and Lelièvre before the Court of Assizes. Nihoul is excluded from prosecution. Public prosecutor Bourlet and some civil parties file an appeal. * 30 April 2003 – The Liège Chamber of Indictment (AI) follows Attorney Bourlet and also refers Nihoul to the Court of Assizes. * 8 December 2003 – Attorney Bourlet files the 27-page indictment.


Trial

* 1 March 2004 – The Dutroux trial starts in Arlon. * 14 June 2004 – After 56 litigation days, the twelve members of the jury withdraw to consider the guilt or innocence of the suspects. * 17 June 2004 – Dutroux is found guilty of several murders. * 22 June 2004 – Dutroux is sentenced to life imprisonment. Michelle Martin is sentenced to 30 years in prison and Michel Lelièvre to 25 years. Michel Nihoul is convicted to 5 years on drug-related charges. Dutroux appeals to cassation. * 16 December 2004 – The Court of Cassation finds that no procedural errors were made. The penalties continue to apply. * October 2005 – Lelièvre asks for the first time to be released conditionally. The request is denied because he has not yet reimbursed his victims.Wat met Dutroux en Lelièvre?
www.standaard.be, 10 mei 2011
* May 2006 - Michel Nihoul is released under conditions. * 2007 – The Belgian state is ordered by the European Court of Human Rights to pay €6,000 in damages to Lelièvre, because his pre-trial detention had lasted for unreasonably long. Like Marc Dutroux and Michelle Martin, Lelièvre had been in jail for almost eight years before he was convicted in 2004. The money is given to his victims. * April 2007 – Michelle Martin submits a request for conditional release, in application of the Lejeune Act. This is rejected in light of the seriousness of the facts, the lack of probation prospects and the risks associated with the psychological profile of the convicted person. * October 2008 – Martin submits a second application, which is rejected. * November 2009 – Martin submits a third application, which is rejected. * 8 May 2011 – Martin, after serving half of her sentence, obtains conditional release. However, the associated conditions are not met by mid-June 2011, and Martin is not released. * April 2012 – Dutroux requests penal leave, which would allow him to stay outside the prison for one day and one night every month (this can be done at the earliest one year before serving one-third of his sentence). The prison management denies the request.


Releases

* 31 July 2012 – The criminal court once again decides to release Michelle Martin conditionally. The monastery of the Poor Klaren in Malonne is prepared to receive her. However, the Public Prosecution Service appeals to cassation, and Martin's release leads to protests. * 19 August 2012 – The families of Julie Lejeune and An Marchal, together with Laetitia Delhez, organize a demonstration against Martin's release with 5,000 participants. After the event, they are received by the Minister of Justice
Annemie Turtelboom Annemie Turtelboom (born 22 November 1967) is a former Belgian minister, who served in the Federal Government of Belgium as a member of the Open VLD party, initially as minister for Asylum and Migration, and later Home Affairs and Justice. She h ...
, the Minister of Internal Affairs
Joëlle Milquet Joëlle F.G.M. Milquet ( ; born 17 February 1961) is a Belgian politician from the Humanist Democratic Centre (CDH). Education She studied classics at the in Charleroi, before going on to graduate in law from the Université Catholique de Louv ...
, and a week later by the Prime Minister
Elio Di Rupo Elio Di Rupo (; born 18 July 1951) is a Belgian politician who served as the prime minister of Belgium from 2011 to 2014, heading the Di Rupo Government, and as minister-president of Wallonia for three non-consecutive terms between 1999 and 20 ...
. * 28 August 2012 – The Supreme Court rules that no procedural errors had been found in the decision of the criminal court. A few hours later Martin leaves the prison for the monastery in Malonne. * 6 September 2012 – Following the protests against the release of Martin, the government summit finalizes the coalition agreement, which includes a tightening of the conditional release. * 13 September 2012 – Dutroux applies to be released with an ankle strap (which can be permitted six months prior to the first appearance before the criminal court). According to Ronny Baudewijn, Dutroux's lawyer, he had spent hours discussing repentance and regret with him, which Dutroux appears to lack. Dutroux finds it regrettable that people have died, but does not feel guilty. As a psychopath, he cannot empathize with others and only sees what he feels he is entitled to, according to Baudewijn. * April 2013 – Dutroux will have served one-third of his sentence and will be summoned for the first time by the enforcement court (even if he does not take the initiative with a request for a conditional release). * October 2019 – Michael Lelièvre is released under conditions. * October 2019 – Dutroux files to have himself examined by psychiatrists. To be allowed conditional release in 2021, three psychiatrists would have to come to the conclusion that the danger of him reoffending is low. In May 2020, Dutroux's pre-parole hearing was delayed by the
COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic (also known as the coronavirus pandemic and COVID pandemic), caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), began with an disease outbreak, outbreak of COVID-19 in Wuhan, China, in December ...
. * October 2020 - Dutroux's lawyer, Bruno Dayez, discloses that Dutroux will not be pursuing parole after an evaluation by three psychiatrists unequivocally opposes his release. The psychiatrists' 90-page report on Dutroux describes him as a "sadistic psychopath who has no remorse for his victims" and a "maximum risk" with a high chance of reoffending. * 26 August 2022 - Michelle Martin is unconditionally released.


See also

*
Jean-Denis Lejeune Jean-Denis Lejeune (born 1959) is the father of Julie Lejeune, who was abducted along with Mélissa Russo in Belgium on 24 June 1995, and imprisoned in Marc Dutroux's cellar. She was eight years old at the time. She died, probably of starvation, s ...
* Carine Russo * Alcàsser Girls * List of prison escapes *
List of serial killers by country This is a list of notable serial killers, by the country where most of the killings occurred. Convicted serial killers by country Afghanistan * Abul Djabar: killed 65 men and boys by strangling them with turbans while raping them; suspected o ...
*
Moors murders The Moors murders were a serial killer, series of child murder, child killings committed by Ian Brady and Myra Hindley in and around Manchester, England, between July 1963 and October 1965. The victims were five children—Pauline Reade, John Ki ...
* Sachsensumpf * Death of Katrien De Cuyper * Regina Louf * Jimmy Savile


References

Citations Sources
The official indictmentBBC News on Sabine DardenneUnited Nations High Commission on Human Rights report criticizing changes in the Belgian Constitution due to the case


External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Dutroux, Marc Marc Dutroux, 1956 births 20th-century Belgian criminals Belgian escapees Belgian murderers of children Belgian people convicted of child sexual abuse Belgian people convicted of kidnapping Belgian people convicted of murder Belgian prisoners sentenced to life imprisonment Belgian rapists Belgian serial killers Drug dealers Living people People convicted of child pornography offenses People convicted of murder by Belgium People convicted of theft People from Ixelles People with antisocial personality disorder Political scandals in Belgium Prisoners sentenced to life imprisonment by Belgium Scandals in Belgium Walloon people