‘Why didn’t you kill me?’ victim asks Dutroux

19 April 2004

BRUSSELS – A young woman who in 1996 was freed after being held captive for over two months by Marc Dutroux, on Monday asked the suspected child murderer why he did not kill her.

Speaking at Dutroux’s trail in the Belgian city of Arlon, 20-year-old Sabine Dardenne, who was 12 when she was abducted and held captive at the suspected child killer’s home, said she wanted to question Dutroux personally about her ordeal.

“I want to ask Marc Dutroux one thing. Even if I know the answer, I want to hear from him, the man who said I had a terrible character, why he did not kill me,” she told the court.

Dutroux replied that he had never had any intention of killing Dardenne.

“Before she went into the cell I never abused her,” he said.

Dardenne was held captive in a tiny, specially constructed secret cell at Dutroux’s house.

Dutroux added that once the 12-year-old had been hidden in the cell he did rape her.

“I recognise that I abused her and I take responsibility for that,” he said. 

Dardenne dismissed Dutroux’s explanation as “not very convincing”.

The young woman spoke for around half an hour on Monday, explaining her ordeal to the court.

She told how she believed Dutroux had hidden her in the cell to protect her from “the boss” who wanted to kill her.

“He told me it was a super hiding place to hide me from the boss. At first I didn’t know there was no big boss. So I was happy that he hid me. I said to myself, no-one will find me here,” she explained.

Dardenne also told the court how, after she had complained of being lonely in the cell, Dutroux had kidnapped a second girl, 14 year old Laetitia Delhez, to keep her company.

“I didn’t know he was going to kidnap someone,” she said.

Dardenne when on to recount how she and Delhez were so convinced Dutroux was protecting them that they were initially scared to come out of the cell when police finally came to rescue them after the suspected child killer was arrested in August 1996.

“When I heard noises I had the impression that people had come to kill me. I said to myself I’ve been here two and a half months, I have a bad character. I’m finished,” she said.

“When Marc Dutroux said, ‘it’s me’ we didn’t dare to come out. Then Laetitia recognised a policeman … and we came out. But I said thankyou to him [Dutroux] as I came out. I thought he had saved us. I was crazy enough to believe that. He certainly fooled us there,” she said.

Dutroux is accused of kidnapping Dardenne, Delhez and four other girls, all of whom died.

Two of the dead girls, An Marchal and Eefje Lambreckx, were found buried at one of Dutroux’s properties.  The two others, Julie Lejeune and Melissa Russo, were discovered dead, allegedly from starvation, in a secret cell at another Dutroux property.

The trail continues.

[Copyright Expatica.com 2004]

Subject: Belgian news