Paedophiles planned to strike in June

16 May 2007

BRUSSELS – Belgian and French police unmasked four paedophiles who planned to abduct and sexually abuse an underage girl from Belgium. The public prosecution department has confirmed this.

Four French nationals, three men and a woman, had prepared a van and an isolated location in order to abduct a girl and imprison her.

“They wanted to strike in Belgium at some point in June,” says Hilde Van De Voorde of the federal prosecution office. “They were explicitly looking for a girl between the ages of five and nine.”

They used the internet to contact people who might help them with the kidnapping. A Belgian internet user caught wind of the plan and alerted Child Focus. Child Focus then called the police immediately.

An undercover agent then sought contact with the group. “The infiltrators had to identify the perpetrators, determine the role of each of the members and find out where the suspects were living,” Van De Voorde said.

Belgian detectives discovered that the gang consisted of four French paedophiles and alerted their French colleagues. The French police arrested the suspects last week.

The public prosecution department says the four French people arrested had already abused children in their home country.

Subject: Belgian news