New probe ordered into Dutroux ‘network’ claim

3 October 2005

BRUSSELS – Judicial authorities have ordered investigations to continue into whether infamous child killer Marc Dutroux was part of a wider paedophile network in Belgium.

At what became the most infamous trial in Belgium’s history, Dutroux was sentenced last year to life for a string of rapes and murders. His former wife Michelle Martin was jailed for 30 years and accomplice Michele Lelievre got 25 years.

However, inquiries have been continuing into whether more criminals were involved in Dutroux’s crimes.

Dutroux has always argued he was taking orders and claims he was part of a network which involved high-ranking members of the Belgian establishment.

The prosecution and the trial judges rejected Dutroux’ story and his two surviving victims, Sabine Dardenne and Laetitia Delhez, also told the court they had never seen any other paedophiles during the time they were kept prisoners by Dutroux.

Yet no explanation has been found for DNA and 600 hairs which were found in one of Dutroux’s secret cells at his home in Marcinelle. They did not belong to any of Dutroux’ six victims or any of the defendants at last year’s trial.

On Monday, La Libre Belgique reported that the public prosecutor of Neufchateau, Michel Bourlet, had asked Liege court authorities whether the investigation into accomplices to Dutroux should now be closed.

Liege decided, though, that an additional serious of investigations should be carried out. Liege’s public prosecutor Cedric Visart de Bocarme and Bourlet said they could not yet specify what those extra investigations would involve until Judge Langlois had received their request.

“But it’s clear that they are about the hairs because there is only that in the second dossier and nothing new has been found,” said Visart de Bocarme.

He added that there were still “key things to do” in order to discover whether “other people than those already known were in the hideout.”

However, the possibility of genetically analysing the hairs does not seem to be on the cards. Bocarme said investigators should “not necessarily spend mad sums”.

[Copyright Expatica News 2005]

Subject: Belgian news