View source for Marc Dutroux

{{short description|Belgian serial killer (born 1956)}}
{{BLP sources|date=July 2023}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=July 2025}}
{{Infobox criminal
| name              = Marc Dutroux
| image             = Pencil sketch of Marc Dutroux.jpg
| caption           = Pencil sketch of Marc Dutroux
| alt               =
| birthname         = Marc Paul Alain Dutroux
| alias             =
| birth_date        = {{Birth date and age|1956|11|6|df=yes}}
| birth_place       = [[Ixelles]], [[Brussels-Capital Region|Brussels]], Belgium
| spouse            = {{ubl
| Françoise Dubois (1976–1983)
| Michelle Martin (1989–2003)
                      }}
| children          = 5
| country           = Belgium
| date              = 19??–1986, 1995–1996
| partners          = {{ubl
| Michelle Martin
| Michel Lelièvre
| [[Michel Nihoul]]
| Bernard Weinstein
}}
| victims           = 4+ murders, 11+ rapes
| fatalities        = 5
| apprehended       = 13 August 1996
| penalty           = [[Life imprisonment in Belgium|Life imprisonment]]
| conviction        = {{ubl
| Child pornography
| Child sexual abuse
| Kidnapping
| Murder
| Theft
 }}| conviction_status = Imprisoned ([[solitary confinement]])
| imprisoned        = Prison of [[Nivelles]]
}}
[[File:En-us-Marc Dutroux from Belgium pronunciation (Voice of America).ogg|thumb|Marc Dutroux from Belgium pronunciation ([[Voice of America]])]]
'''Marc Paul Alain Dutroux'''<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.nieuwsblad.be/cnt/hno19022004_071|title=Het mirakel van Marcinelle|date=31 January 2004|work=[[Het Nieuwsblad]]|access-date=14 June 2018|language=nl-BE|trans-title=The miracle of Marcinelle|archive-date=14 June 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180614172338/https://www.nieuwsblad.be/cnt/hno19022004_071|url-status=live}}</ref> ({{IPA|fr|maʁk pɔl alɛ̃ dytʁu|lang}}; born 6 November 1956) is a Belgian convicted [[serial killer]], [[serial rape|serial rapist]], and [[child sexual abuse|child molester]]. Initially convicted for the [[child abduction|abduction]] and [[rape]] of five young girls in 1989, Dutroux was released on [[parole]] after just three years' imprisonment.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Kelly |first1=Liz |author1-link=Liz Kelly |title=Confronting An Atrocity: The Dutroux Case |journal=Trouble & Strife |date=1998 |volume=36 |url=https://cwasu.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/07/Confronting-An-Atrocity.pdf |access-date=29 October 2025 |format=PDF |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200923165745/https://cwasu.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/07/Confronting-An-Atrocity.pdf |archive-date=23 September 2020}}</ref> He was arrested again in 1996 on suspicion of having abducted, [[torture]]d, and [[child sexual abuse|sexually abused]] 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]].

Dutroux's accomplices included his wife, Michelle Martin; Michel Lelièvre; [[Michel Nihoul]]; and Bernard Weinstein. Martin was convicted and sentenced to 30 years in prison, and Lelièvre to 25 years. Nihoul, "a [[Brussels]] businessman, [[public house|pub]]-owner and familiar face at sex parties",<ref name="guardian" /> was initially tried as an accomplice to the kidnappings but was [[acquittal|acquitted]] owing to insufficient evidence; he was instead convicted of involvement in a gang that participated in [[human trafficking|human]] and [[drug trafficking]], and was sentenced to five years in prison.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.nbcnews.com/id/wbna5233011|title=Notorious child rapist-murderer convicted|website=[[NBC News]]|date=17 June 2004|access-date=6 June 2020|archive-date=23 June 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200623215432/http://www.nbcnews.com/id/5233011/ns/us_news-crime_and_courts/t/notorious-child-rapist-murderer-convicted/|url-status=live}}</ref> Weinstein was never tried as he was murdered by Dutroux before being identified as an accomplice.

The lenient result of Dutroux's first [[prosecution]], 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]], resulting in the complete reorganisation of [[Law enforcement in Belgium|Belgium's law enforcement agencies]]. In the [[White March]] held on 20 October 1996, 300,000 Belgian citizens protested the mishandling of the case.

== Early life ==
Marc Dutroux was born in [[Ixelles]], [[Brussels-Capital Region|Brussels]], on 6 November 1956<ref>{{cite encyclopedia|year=2009|title=Marc Dutroux|encyclopedia=[[Encyclopædia Britannica]]|url=https://www.britannica.com/biography/Marc-Dutroux}}</ref> to Victor Dutroux and Jeanine Lauwens. He is the eldest of five children.<ref name="profile">{{cite news |title=Profile: Marc Dutroux |date=17 June 2004 |url=https://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/europe/3522367.stm |publisher=BBC News |access-date=18 March 2022 |archive-date=16 June 2004 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20040616063314/http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/3522367.stm |url-status=live }}</ref> Dutroux spent part of his early childhood in [[Burundi]], then part of the [[Belgian Congo]], 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]].<ref>1999, Bulté, Annemie; De Coninck, Douglas; and Van Heeswyck, Marie-Jean. ''The X-Files: What Belgium Should Not Have Known About the Dutroux Affair''. EPO, 1999.</ref> Dutroux later reported to have been [[child abuse|abused]] by his mother and father.{{fact|date=February 2025}}

In 1972, Dutroux's parents [[marital separation|separated]] and his father left the family home. Shortly after graduating from school, Dutroux left home himself and made his living as an [[electrician]].<ref>{{Cite news |last=Smith |first=Craig S. |date=23 June 2004 |title=Belgian Gets Life for Raping and Murdering Girls |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2004/06/23/world/belgian-gets-life-for-raping-and-murdering-girls.html |page=A-4 |edition=National}}</ref> 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.{{citation needed|date=July 2023}}

== Early criminal activity (1979–1989) ==
During the late 1970s, Dutroux found new employment as a [[Scrap|scrap dealer]] and supplemented his income by stealing car parts.{{citation needed|date=July 2023}} From 1979 onward he was convicted for a variety of petty offences including [[assault]], [[drug dealing]], and [[Possession of stolen goods|trading stolen vehicles]].{{citation needed|date=July 2023}} Meanwhile, he regularly visited [[ice skating]] rinks in [[Charleroi]], [[Forest, Belgium|Forest]], and [[Montignies-sur-Sambre]], where he would deliberately trip or bump into young female skaters in order to touch them.{{citation needed|date=July 2023}} 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.{{citation needed|date=July 2023}} A court case ended with De Beyn being convicted of assault and battery against Dutroux, although Dutroux was banned from the Charleroi skating rink.{{citation needed|date=July 2023}}

One of his mistresses was Michelle Martin, whom he later married and with whom he had three more children.<ref name="profile" />

=== 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.{{citation needed|date=July 2023}}

Peteghem told police that his and Dutroux's first victims were two girls from [[Morlanwelz]]. These two victims were never located by police.{{citation needed|date=July 2023}}

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.{{citation needed|date=July 2023}} On 17 January 1986, Catherine B., aged 18, was abducted from Obaix in [[Hainaut Province]]. 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.{{citation needed|date=July 2023}}

On 18 December 1985, Dutroux abducted Élisabeth G., 15, in [[Pont-à-Celles]]. 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{{frac|1|2}} years. Peteghem received 6{{frac|1|2}} 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.<ref name="nieuwsbald">{{cite web |title=Dutroux had zijn lesje geleerd |url=https://www.nieuwsblad.be/cnt/hno19022004_049 |website=nieuwsblad.be |date=13 February 2004 |publisher=Bieuwsblad |access-date=9 November 2019 |archive-date=9 November 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191109172527/https://www.nieuwsblad.be/cnt/hno19022004_049 |url-status=live }}</ref>

The early release of Dutroux was granted by [[Melchior Wathelet]],<ref name="zeit">{{cite news |title=Die Spuren führen zu den Einflußreichen |url=https://www.zeit.de/2004/10/dutroux2 |newspaper=Die Zeit |date=26 February 2004 |access-date=9 November 2019 |archive-date=2 July 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190702111352/https://www.zeit.de/2004/10/dutroux2 |url-status=live |last1=Zeit |first1=(c) Die }}</ref> 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.<ref name="nieuwsbald" />

=== 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.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Moulaert |first=Frank |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=7umgCOBEMgEC&q=Charleroi+high+unemployment+1990s%7Ctitle%3DGlobalization&pg=PA86 |title=Globalization and Integrated Area Development in European Cities |date=26 October 2000 |publisher=OUP Oxford |isbn=978-0-19-158946-1 |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{cite news| url= https://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/financialcrisis/5072276/Charleroi-the-most-depressing-city-in-Europe-becomes-more-depressing-by-the-day.html| date= 29 March 2009| title= Charleroi: the most depressing city in Europe becomes more depressing by the day| newspaper= The Telegraph| access-date= 20 July 2016| archive-date= 27 July 2016| archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20160727225208/http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/financialcrisis/5072276/Charleroi-the-most-depressing-city-in-Europe-becomes-more-depressing-by-the-day.html| url-status= live}}</ref> 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]], he constructed a concealed dungeon in the basement. Dutroux has been described by [[psychiatrist]]s who examined him for trial as a [[psychopath]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.telegraphindia.com/1040618/asp/foreign/story_3385982.asp|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20040703185508/http://www.telegraphindia.com/1040618/asp/foreign/story_3385982.asp|url-status=dead|archive-date=3 July 2004|title=Evil Belgian found guilty|date=17 June 2002|work=[[The Telegraph India]]|location=Calcutta|access-date=13 August 2015}}</ref><ref name="washingtonpost">{{cite news |last1=Trueheart |first1=Charles |title=SORDID TIMES IN DEAR BELGIUM' |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/politics/1996/09/24/sordid-times-in-dear-belgium/0f654725-8731-4fc1-8ddd-29b74cf73b92/ |archive-url=https://archive.today/20170414211245/https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/politics/1996/09/24/sordid-times-in-dear-belgium/0f654725-8731-4fc1-8ddd-29b74cf73b92/ |url-status=dead |archive-date=14 April 2017 |newspaper=The Washington Post |access-date=8 November 2019}}</ref>

== Crimes after release ==
{{Redirect|Bernard Weinstein|the American physician|I. Bernard Weinstein}}
On 24 June 1995, eight-year-old classmates Julie Lejeune and Mélissa Russo were kidnapped after going for a walk in [[Grâce-Hollogne]], probably by Dutroux,<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2012/08/01/world/europe/accomplice-in-belgian-child-killings-paroled-to-convent.html|title=Accomplice in Belgian child killings paroled to convent|newspaper=The New York Times|date=31 July 2012|access-date=12 May 2017|last1=Geitner|first1=Paul|archive-date=2 January 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180102144507/http://www.nytimes.com/2012/08/01/world/europe/accomplice-in-belgian-child-killings-paroled-to-convent.html|url-status=live}}</ref> and taken to his house in [[Marcinelle]]. Dutroux kept them imprisoned in the dungeon he had created, repeatedly sexually abused them and produced [[child pornography]] videos of the abuse. Two months later, in the early hours of 23 August in [[Ostend]], Dutroux and accomplice Michel Lelièvre kidnapped An Marchal and Eefje Lambrecks, two teenage girls from [[Hasselt]]<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.trouw.nl/home/steeds-vond-vader-marchal-een-woord~a1a22a15/|title=Steeds vond vader Marchal een woord|website=[[Trouw]]|date=4 September 1996|language=nl-NL|access-date=26 June 2018|archive-date=27 June 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180627034022/https://www.trouw.nl/home/steeds-vond-vader-marchal-een-woord~a1a22a15/|url-status=live}}</ref> who were on their way back to their holiday home in [[Westende]] following a night out in [[Blankenberge]].<ref>{{Cite news|url=http://www.lalibre.be/archive/an-et-eefje-jusqu-au-bout-de-l-horreur-51b88269e4b0de6db9a9d83b|title=An et Eefje, jusqu'au bout de l'horreur|work=[[La Libre Belgique]]|access-date=24 June 2018|language=fr|archive-date=24 June 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180624204639/http://www.lalibre.be/archive/an-et-eefje-jusqu-au-bout-de-l-horreur-51b88269e4b0de6db9a9d83b|url-status=live}}</ref> 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]], where Dutroux and accomplice Bernard Weinstein killed them by burying them alive.<ref>{{Cite news|url=http://www.lalibre.be/actu/belgique/an-et-eefje-enterrees-vivantes-sans-doute-en-septembre-95-51b882e5e4b0de6db9a9febf|title=An et Eefje enterrées vivantes, sans doute en septembre 95|work=La Libre Belgique|access-date=26 June 2018|language=fr|archive-date=27 June 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180627034516/http://www.lalibre.be/actu/belgique/an-et-eefje-enterrees-vivantes-sans-doute-en-septembre-95-51b882e5e4b0de6db9a9febf|url-status=live}}</ref>

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]]; 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.<ref name="Je ne voulais pas les supprimer">{{Cite news|url=http://www.lalibre.be/actu/belgique/je-ne-voulais-pas-les-supprimer-51b88369e4b0de6db9aa1f8d|title=Je ne voulais pas les supprimer|work=La Libre Belgique|access-date=26 June 2018|language=fr|archive-date=27 June 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180627034323/http://www.lalibre.be/actu/belgique/je-ne-voulais-pas-les-supprimer-51b88369e4b0de6db9aa1f8d|url-status=live}}</ref><ref name=":0">{{Cite news|url=http://www.dhnet.be/actu/faits/dutroux-m-aurait-tuee-51b7ca7de4b0de6db98e5a1f|title=''Dutroux m'aurait tuée''|work=[[La Dernière Heure]]|access-date=26 June 2018|language=fr|archive-date=27 June 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180627034327/http://www.dhnet.be/actu/faits/dutroux-m-aurait-tuee-51b7ca7de4b0de6db98e5a1f|url-status=live}}</ref> 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]], Dutroux placed [[hose clamp]]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]].<ref name="La Dernière Heure">{{Cite news|url=http://www.dhnet.be/archive/bernard-weinstein-torture-avec-des-colliers-de-serrage-51b82fa2e4b0de6db9a061bc|title=Bernard Weinstein torturé avec des colliers de serrage|work=La Dernière Heure|access-date=26 June 2018|language=fr|archive-date=27 June 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180627034311/http://www.dhnet.be/archive/bernard-weinstein-torture-avec-des-colliers-de-serrage-51b82fa2e4b0de6db9a061bc|url-status=live}}</ref> On 6 December 1995, Dutroux, having been recognised by Rochow, was arrested for vehicle theft.<ref name = BBC>{{cite news |title=Timeline: Dutroux paedophile case |url=https://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/3794985.stm |access-date=22 May 2021 |publisher=BBC News |date=17 June 2004 |archive-date=6 May 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210506193143/http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/3794985.stm |url-status=live }}</ref><ref name=":0" /> [[File:BernardWeinstein.jpg|thumb|160 px|Bernard Weinstein was murdered by Dutroux in November 1995.]]

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.<ref name="Van Heeswyck 1999">Van Heeswyck, Marie-Jeanne; Bulté, Annemie; De Coninck, Douglas; ''The X-Dossiers'', 1999.</ref> 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.<ref name=":1">{{Cite news|url=http://www.lalibre.be/actu/belgique/langloisjulie-et-melissa-sont-mortes-de-faim-et-de-soif-51b882e5e4b0de6db9a9fe82|title=Langlois: "Julie et Mélissa sont mortes de faim et de soif"|work=La Libre Belgique|access-date=27 June 2018|language=fr|archive-date=27 June 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180627034500/http://www.lalibre.be/actu/belgique/langloisjulie-et-melissa-sont-mortes-de-faim-et-de-soif-51b882e5e4b0de6db9a9fe82|url-status=live}}</ref><ref name=":2">{{Cite news|url=http://www.lesoir.be/archive/recup/le-calvaire-de-julie-et-melissa-martin-et-le-mystere-de_t-20040310-Z0P4PC.html|title=Le calvaire de Julie et Melissa Martin et le mystère de la lourde porte|work=[[Le Soir]]|access-date=28 June 2018|language=fr|archive-date=28 June 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180628072551/http://www.lesoir.be/archive/recup/le-calvaire-de-julie-et-melissa-martin-et-le-mystere-de_t-20040310-Z0P4PC.html|url-status=live}}</ref> 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.<ref>{{Cite news|url=http://www.standaard.be/cnt/nflb18032004_001|title=Julie en Melissa konden geen 103 dagen overleven|work=[[De Standaard]]|access-date=27 June 2018|language=nl-BE|archive-date=27 June 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180627034201/http://www.standaard.be/cnt/nflb18032004_001|url-status=live}}</ref> Dutroux buried Lejeune and Russo's bodies in the garden of the house he owned in Sars-la-Buissière, near that of Weinstein.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.nouvelobs.com/societe/20110510.OBS2805/dutroux-meurtrier-violeur-et-dealer-d-enfants.html|title=Dutroux, meurtrier, violeur et dealer d'enfants|work=[[L'Obs]]|access-date=27 June 2018|language=fr-FR|archive-date=27 June 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180627034552/https://www.nouvelobs.com/societe/20110510.OBS2805/dutroux-meurtrier-violeur-et-dealer-d-enfants.html|url-status=live}}</ref>

On the morning of 28 May 1996, Dutroux and Lelièvre kidnapped 12-year-old [[Sabine Dardenne]], who was cycling to school in [[Tournai]].<ref name="dhnet2">{{Cite news|url=http://www.dhnet.be/actu/faits/le-pedophile-dutroux-raconte-par-sabine-51b7d031e4b0de6db98fae63|title=Le pédophile Dutroux raconté par Sabine!|work=La Dernière Heure|access-date=28 June 2018|language=fr|archive-date=28 June 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180628044331/http://www.dhnet.be/actu/faits/le-pedophile-dutroux-raconte-par-sabine-51b7d031e4b0de6db98fae63|url-status=live}}</ref> In a book originally published under the title ''J'avais 12 ans, j'ai pris mon vélo et je suis partie à l'école''<ref>{{cite news |url=http://www.lesoir.be/archive/d-20050121-W2EC0U |title=Dutroux – Le livre s'arrache Sabine cartonne |language=fr |first=Marc |last=Metdepenningen |work=Le Soir |date=21 January 2005 |access-date=28 June 2018 |archive-date=11 August 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180811101006/http://www.lesoir.be/archive/d-20050121-W2EC0U |url-status=live }}</ref> (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.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.theguardian.com/books/2005/may/15/biography.features1|title=Observer review: I Choose to Live by Sabine Dardenne|last=France|first=Louise|date=15 May 2005|website=the Guardian|language=en|access-date=28 June 2018|archive-date=28 September 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180928083006/https://www.theguardian.com/books/2005/may/15/biography.features1|url-status=live}}</ref> 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]].<ref>{{Cite news|url=http://www.lalibre.be/actu/belgique/dutroux-et-lelievre-ont-prepare-l-enlevement-de-laetitia-51b882e5e4b0de6db9a9fee8|title=Dutroux et Lelièvre ont préparé l'enlèvement de Laetitia|last=Libre.be|first=La|access-date=28 June 2018|language=fr|archive-date=28 June 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180628044357/http://www.lalibre.be/actu/belgique/dutroux-et-lelievre-ont-prepare-l-enlevement-de-laetitia-51b882e5e4b0de6db9a9fee8|url-status=live}}</ref> 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]].<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.rtbf.be/info/dossier/l-affaire-dutroux-20-ans-plus-tard/detail_les-25-personnages-clefs-de-l-affaire-dutroux-les-2-temoins-de-bertrix?id=9370372|title=Les 25 personnages clefs de l'affaire Dutroux: les 2 témoins de Bertrix|date=9 August 2016|work=RTBF Info|access-date=28 June 2018|language=fr-FR|archive-date=28 June 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180628044200/https://www.rtbf.be/info/dossier/l-affaire-dutroux-20-ans-plus-tard/detail_les-25-personnages-clefs-de-l-affaire-dutroux-les-2-temoins-de-bertrix?id=9370372|url-status=live}}</ref> On 13 August 1996, Dutroux, Martin and Lelièvre were arrested.<ref>{{Cite news |url=https://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/3794985.stm |title=Timeline: Dutroux paedophile case |date=17 June 2004 |work=BBC News |access-date=11 August 2018 |language=en-GB |archive-date=11 August 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180811095704/http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/3794985.stm |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite news| url= https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/europe/belgians-furious-as-child-killer-marc-dutrouxs-wife-michelle-martin-is-freed-8091716.html| title= Belgian furious as child killer Marc Dutroux wife Michelle is freed| agency= Associated Press| date= 22 August 2012| website= The Independent| access-date= 12 July 2015| archive-date= 22 July 2015| archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20150722084843/http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/europe/belgians-furious-as-child-killer-marc-dutrouxs-wife-michelle-martin-is-freed-8091716.html| url-status= live}}</ref> 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.<ref>{{cite video |year=2008 |title=Serial Killers: Monster of Belgium |medium=Television Production |publisher=Discovery Communications |location=Silver Spring, Maryland, US }}</ref> 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.<ref>{{Cite news |url=http://www.lesoir.be/archive/recup/%252Fhorreur-pour-julie-et-melissa-fragile-espoir-pour-an-et_t-19960819-Z0CH97.html |title=Horreur Pour Julie et Melissa, Fragile Espoir Pour An et Eefje Chronique d'Epouvante la Bonne Piste une Vie de Flic |last=Guillaume |first=Alain |date=19 August 1996 |work=Le Soir |access-date=10 August 2018 |language=fr }}</ref> On 3 September, the remains of Marchal and Lambrecks were located and exhumed in [[Jumet]].<ref>{{cite news |url=http://www.lesoir.be/archive/d-19960904-W346XJ |title=Dutroux – Le livre s'arrache Sabine cartonne |language=fr |work=Le Soir}}</ref> 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.<ref name=murder>{{cite web|last=Bell|first=Rachael|title=Marc Dutroux, A Pedophile and Child-Killer|url=http://www.trutv.com/library/crime/serial_killers/predators/dutroux/evil_1.html|publisher=trutv|access-date=19 December 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121210082737/http://www.trutv.com/library/crime/serial_killers/predators/dutroux/evil_1.html|archive-date=10 December 2012|url-status=dead}}</ref>

== 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.<ref name="britannica" /> 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.<ref name="guardian">{{cite web |last1=Frenkiel |first1=Olenka |title=Belgium's silent heart of darkness |url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2002/may/05/dutroux.featuresreview |archive-url=https://archive.today/20170831221935/https://www.theguardian.com/world/2002/may/05/dutroux.featuresreview |url-status=dead |archive-date=31 August 2017 |website=guardian.co.uk |publisher=the guardian |access-date=8 November 2019}}</ref> 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.<ref name="guardian" /> 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.<ref name="guardian" /> 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.<ref>{{cite web | url=https://time.com/archive/6930050/police-incompetence-aided-sex-ring/ | title=Police Incompetence Aided Sex Ring | date=15 April 1997 }}</ref> Several videotapes found during the search were never looked at.<ref name="dhnet" /> Some of them showed Dutroux constructing the dungeon in which Lejeune and Russo were held.<ref name="guardian" /> 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.<ref name="dhnet" /> The officer conducting the search was later promoted.<ref name="dhnet">{{cite web |title=Procès Dutroux: Michaux à la barre |url=http://www.dhnet.be/actu/faits/proces-dutroux-michaux-a-la-barre-51b7cadbe4b0de6db98e7359 |archive-url=https://archive.today/20170414013606/http://www.dhnet.be/actu/faits/proces-dutroux-michaux-a-la-barre-51b7cadbe4b0de6db98e7359 |url-status=dead |archive-date=14 April 2017 |website=dhnet.be |access-date=9 November 2019}}</ref>

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.<ref name="IND" /> Another judge, Jean-Claude Van Espen, resigned after his close relationship with Michel Nihoul came to light.<ref name="guardian" />

On 23 April 1998,<ref name = BBC /> 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.<ref name="telegraphcover" /> The Minister of Justice, [[Stefaan De Clerck]], the Minister of the Interior, [[Johan Vande Lanotte]], 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.<ref name=murder />

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.<ref name="guardian" /> 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?"<ref name="guardian" />

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.<ref name="independent">{{cite web |last1=Brace |first1=Matthew |title=Detective held in Belgian abuse case |url=http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/detective-held-in-belgian-abuse-case-1311569.html |archive-url=https://archive.today/20170413044628/http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/detective-held-in-belgian-abuse-case-1311569.html |url-status=dead |archive-date=13 April 2017 |website=independent |access-date=8 November 2019}}</ref> According to prosecutor Michel Bourlet, Zico was charged with truck theft, document forgery and [[insurance fraud]].<ref name="independent" />

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.<ref name="telegraphmurder">{{cite web |last1=Evans-Pritchard |first1=Ambrose |title=Judge tells of murder plots to block Dutroux investigation |url=http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/europe/belgium/1456107/Judge-tells-of-murder-plots-to-block-Dutroux-investigation.html |archive-url=https://archive.today/20170407010947/http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/europe/belgium/1456107/Judge-tells-of-murder-plots-to-block-Dutroux-investigation.html |url-status=dead |archive-date=7 April 2017 |website=telegraph.co.uk |publisher=telegraph |access-date=9 November 2019}}</ref>

The investigation was also complicated by rivalry between different law enforcement bodies. Both the [[Gendarmerie (Belgium)|Gendarmerie]] 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.<ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.brusselstimes.com/181344/the-dutroux-case-and-how-it-changed-belgium | title=The Dutroux case, and how it changed Belgium }}</ref>

=== 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''.''<ref name="chicagotribune">{{cite web |last1=Moseley |first1=Ray |title=Child Sex Case Adds Outrage To Scandals Rocking Belgium |url=https://www.chicagotribune.com/1996/10/27/child-sex-case-adds-outrage-to-scandals-rocking-belgium/ |archive-url=https://archive.today/20170831072111/http://articles.chicagotribune.com/1996-10-27/news/9610270253_1_marc-dutroux-minister-willy-claes-jean-marc-connerotte |url-status=live |archive-date=31 August 2017 |website=chicagotribune.com |date=27 October 1996 |publisher=Chicago Tribune |access-date=9 November 2019}}</ref>

=== Attempts to have access to Dutroux Dossier from WikiLeaks blocked in Belgium ===
In 2009, [[WikiLeaks]] 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."<ref name="australian">{{cite web |last1=Charter |first1=David |title=WikiLeaks slammed over publishing dossier including Belgian pedophile killer Marc Dutroux|url=http://www.theaustralian.com.au/news/world/wikileaks-slammed-over-publishing-dossier-including-belgian-pedophile-killer-marc-dutroux/news-story/94e96a9a0c5ca807ae94afe12d1ded62 |archive-url=https://archive.today/20170227223432/http://www.theaustralian.com.au/news/world/wikileaks-slammed-over-publishing-dossier-including-belgian-pedophile-killer-marc-dutroux/news-story/94e96a9a0c5ca807ae94afe12d1ded62 |url-status=dead |archive-date=27 February 2017 |website=telegraph.co.uk |publisher=The Australian |access-date=8 November 2019}}</ref>

== 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 [[political corruption|corruption]], sloppiness and incompetence. [[Marc Verwilghen]], the chairman of the inquiry sharply criticized every aspect of the investigation.<ref name="guardianverwilghen">{{cite web |last1=Bates |first1=Stephen |title=Cover-up claims revive sex scandal |url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/1999/apr/21/stephenbates |archive-url=https://archive.today/20170211130158/https://www.theguardian.com/world/1999/apr/21/stephenbates |url-status=dead |archive-date=11 February 2017 |website=[[The Guardian]] |access-date=9 November 2019}}</ref>

== 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.<ref name="guardian" /> They demanded an investigation and reform of the police and justice system. The protest was called the "[[White March]]".<ref name="telegraphcover" /><ref name="guardian" /><ref name="nyt">{{cite web |agency=Reuters |title=275,000 in Belgium Protest Handling of Child Sex Scandal |url=http://www.nytimes.com/1996/10/21/world/275000-in-belgium-protest-handling-of-child-sex-scandal.html |archive-url=https://archive.today/20170412040515/http://www.nytimes.com/1996/10/21/world/275000-in-belgium-protest-handling-of-child-sex-scandal.html |url-status=dead |archive-date=12 April 2017 |website=[[The New York Times]] |access-date=8 November 2019}}</ref> Protesters were wearing signs that said "Stop the cover-up".<ref name="nyt" />

To protest the prospect of a conditional release of Dutroux, a "Black March" was organised on the 23rd anniversary of the "[[White March]]". 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.<ref name="brusselstimes">{{cite web |last1=Galindo |first1=Gabriela |title='Black march' to denounce conditional release of serial child killer Dutroux's accomplice |url=https://www.brusselstimes.com/all-news/belgium-all-news/justice-belgium/71010/black-march-to-denounce-release-of-serial-child-killer-dutrouxs-accomplice/ |website=bruseelstimes.com |date=October 2019 |publisher=The Brussels Times |access-date=3 November 2019 |archive-date=3 October 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191003211400/https://www.brusselstimes.com/all-news/belgium-all-news/justice-belgium/71010/black-march-to-denounce-release-of-serial-child-killer-dutrouxs-accomplice/ |url-status=live }}</ref>

''[[The Guardian]]'' reported in 2004 that "the entire credibility of the current reformist government of [[Guy Verhofstadt]] and Belgium's very reputation as a normal civilised country is on the line."<ref name="guardianhaunted">{{cite web |last1=Osborn |first1=Andrew |title=Belgium still haunted by paedophile scandal |url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2002/jan/25/worlddispatch.dutroux |archive-url=https://archive.today/20170217104101/https://www.theguardian.com/world/2002/jan/25/worlddispatch.dutroux |url-status=dead |archive-date=17 February 2017 |website=[[The Guardian]] |access-date=9 November 2019}}</ref>

The crimes of Marc Dutroux were covered in multiple nonfiction documentaries, one of the earliest being a [[Great Britain|British]] [[Public-access television|public-access]] TV documentary titled ''Witness: The Lost Children'' ([[Channel 4]], 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.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Hill |first1=Helen |title=Witness: The Lost Children |publisher=Channel 4 |date=1999}}</ref> 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]], bringing [[North America]]n attention to the Belgium case.<ref>{{cite web |title=Crimes That Shook the World Season 2 Episodes |url=https://www.tvguide.com/tvshows/crimes-that-shook-the-world/episodes-season-2/1030369078/ |website=www.tvguide.com |publisher=TV Guide |access-date=1 November 2021 |archive-date=1 November 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211101142723/https://www.tvguide.com/tvshows/crimes-that-shook-the-world/episodes-season-2/1030369078/ |url-status=live }}</ref>

== Trial ==
Dutroux's trial began on 1 March 2004, some seven and a half years after his initial arrest.<ref name="irishtimes.com1">{{cite news|url=https://www.irishtimes.com/news/dutroux-trial-to-revive-belgium-s-trauma-1.1133525|title=Dutroux trial to revive Belgium's trauma|date=1 March 2004|newspaper=The Irish Times|access-date=12 July 2015|archive-date=4 March 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160304070542/http://www.irishtimes.com/news/dutroux-trial-to-revive-belgium-s-trauma-1.1133525|url-status=live}}</ref> It was a [[jury trial|trial by jury]] and up to 450 people were called upon to testify. The trial took place in [[Arlon]], the capital of the [[Luxembourg (province of Belgium)|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]], [[Kidnapping|abduction]], [[attempted murder]] and attempted abduction, [[child molestation|molestation]], and three unrelated rapes of women from [[Slovakia]].<ref>[http://kriminalistika.eu/muzeumzla/dutroux/dutroux.html Marc Dutroux] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151226053501/http://kriminalistika.eu/muzeumzla/dutroux/dutroux.html |date=26 December 2015 }} at Kriminalstika.eu. Retrieved 12 July 2015</ref>[[File:DutrouxAffairFigures.jpg|thumb|The defendants of the trial, left to right, Marc Dutroux, Michel Lelièvre, Michelle Martin, and Jean-Michel Nihoul.]]

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.<ref>{{cite news|last=Siuberski|first=Phillipe|title=Dutroux lashes out at media|url=http://www.theage.com.au/articles/2004/03/09/1078594307568.html|newspaper=The Age|date=9 March 2004|access-date=18 December 2012|archive-date=1 November 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161101061755/http://www.theage.com.au/articles/2004/03/09/1078594307568.html|url-status=live}}</ref>

In a rare move, the [[jury]] at the [[Court of assizes (Belgium)|assizes trial]] publicly protested the presiding judge Stéphane Goux's handling of the debates and the victims' testimonies.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.humanite.fr/node/304250|newspaper=l'Humanité|title=Procès Dutroux. Le président rappelé à l'ordre|trans-title=Dutroux trial. President recalled to order|date=22 April 2004|access-date=19 December 2017|archive-date=23 October 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171023100121/https://www.humanite.fr/node/304250|url-status=live}}</ref> 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.<ref name="irishtimes.com">{{cite news|url=https://www.irishtimes.com/news/belgian-paedophile-dutroux-guilty-of-rape-and-murder-1.1145387|title=Belgian paedophile Dutroux guilty of rape and murder|date=18 June 2004|newspaper=The Irish Times|access-date=12 July 2015|archive-date=3 June 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170603070317/http://www.irishtimes.com/news/belgian-paedophile-dutroux-guilty-of-rape-and-murder-1.1145387|url-status=live}}</ref> Dutroux, Martin and Lelièvre were found guilty on all charges; the jury were unable to reach a verdict on Nihoul's role.<ref name="irishtimes.com" />

=== 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.<ref name="irishtimes.com1" /><ref>{{Cite web |last=Black |first=Ian |date=11 June 2004 |title=Dutroux insists he was part of paedophile ring |url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2004/jun/11/dutroux.ianblack |access-date=13 September 2022 |website=The Guardian |archive-date=13 September 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220913201349/https://www.theguardian.com/world/2004/jun/11/dutroux.ianblack |url-status=live }}</ref><ref name="guardingdungeondeath">{{cite web |last1=Black |first1=Ian |date=4 March 2004 |title=Dutroux boasts of dungeon of death |url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2004/mar/04/dutroux.ianblack |access-date=8 November 2019 |website=[[The Guardian]] |archive-date=20 February 2017 |archive-url=https://archive.today/20170220042249/https://www.theguardian.com/world/2004/mar/04/dutroux.ianblack |url-status=live }}</ref> He said that he did torture and abuse all of the girls but denied killing any of them until the very end.<ref name="telegraphkill" /> Dutroux further denied kidnapping, raping and murdering Julie Lejeune and Mélissa Russo. He, however, admitted to incarcerating them at one of his houses.<ref name="guardian" />   In the case of Lejeune and Russo, Dutroux also claimed that he had "protected them from a powerful and sinister child sex ring."<ref name="guardiandungeondeath">{{cite web |last1=Black |first1=Ian |title=Dutroux boasts of dungeon of death |url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2004/mar/04/dutroux.ianblack |archive-url=https://archive.today/20170220042249/https://www.theguardian.com/world/2004/mar/04/dutroux.ianblack |url-status=dead |archive-date=20 February 2017 |website=[[The Guardian]] |access-date=8 November 2019}}</ref> 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.<ref name="profile" />{{check quotation}} 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."<ref name="telegraphburied" /> Dutroux further said that two unidentified policemen had taken part with him in the kidnapping of An Marchal and Eefje Lambrecks.<ref name="guardiandungeondeath" /> 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."<ref name="guardiandungeondeath" /> Dutroux's lawyer, Xavier Magnee, repeatedly said that the prosecution never followed up on evidence of a network surrounding Dutroux.<ref name="telegraphburied" />

=== Michelle Martin's testimony ===
Martin testified that Dutroux and Weinstein kidnapped Lejeune and Russo.<ref name="guardiandungeondeath" /> She also said that Dutroux had told her that he had murdered Weinstein.<ref name="guardiandungeondeath" /> Martin further said that Dutroux and Weinstein had killed Marchal and Lambrecks.<ref name="guardiandungeondeath" /> 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.<ref name="guardiandungeondeath" />

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.<ref name="nieuwsblad" />

=== Sentencing ===
The [[Capital punishment in Belgium|death penalty]] 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.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.volkskrant.nl/buitenland/niet-alle-vragen-over-marc-dutroux-zijn-beantwoord~a691596/|newspaper=Die Volkskrant|title=Niet alle vragen over Marc Dutroux zijn beantwoord|trans-title=Not all questions about Marc Dutroux are answered|first1=Bart|last1=Dirks|date=1 March 2004|access-date=19 December 2017|archive-date=24 October 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171024153806/https://www.volkskrant.nl/buitenland/niet-alle-vragen-over-marc-dutroux-zijn-beantwoord~a691596/|url-status=live}}</ref> On 22 June 2004, Dutroux received the maximum sentence of [[life imprisonment]], 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.{{citation needed|date=April 2025}}

On 23 June, Dutroux lodged an appeal against his sentence.<ref>{{cite web|title=Belgium's Dutroux 'lodges appeal'|url=https://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/3834499.stm|publisher=BBC News (BBC)|date=23 June 2004|access-date=18 December 2012|archive-date=4 July 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220704062532/http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/europe/3834499.stm|url-status=live}}</ref>

Although Nihoul was [[acquittal|acquitted]] of [[kidnapping]] and [[Conspiracy (crime)|conspiracy]] 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]] until his death on 23 October 2019.<ref>{{Cite web |last=La |first=J. |date=13 April 2025 |title=Michel Nihoul est décédé |url=https://www.lalibre.be/belgique/societe/2019/10/23/michel-nihoul-est-decede-EXEC3KCHXFCJTFO456SNXAJUVA/ |access-date=15 April 2025 |website=La Libre.be |language=fr}}</ref>

On 19 August 2012, about 2,000 people in Brussels demonstrated against Martin's possible early release from prison. She has since been [[parole]]d, 16 years into her sentence,<ref>{{cite news|title=Belgians demand pedophile accomplice stays in jail |date=19 August 2012 |url=http://www.sacbee.com/2012/08/19/4739041/belgians-demand-pedophile-accomplice.html |work=Sacbee News }}{{dead link|date=October 2025|bot=medic}}{{cbignore|bot=medic}}</ref> and was released into the care of the [[Poor Clares]] 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.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.ad.nl/buitenland/michelle-martin-onherkenbaar-veranderd~abff3872/|title=Michelle Martin onherkenbaar veranderd|trans-title=Michelle Martin irrecognisably changed|date=30 April 2014|newspaper=Algemeen Dagblad|access-date=19 December 2017|archive-date=24 October 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171024205316/https://www.ad.nl/buitenland/michelle-martin-onherkenbaar-veranderd~abff3872/|url-status=live}}</ref> 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.<ref>[http://deredactie.be/cm/vrtnieuws/binnenland/2.31353 Article on the website] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171024153355/http://deredactie.be/cm/vrtnieuws/binnenland/2.31353 |date=24 October 2017 }} of Belgian television and radiostation [[Vlaamse Radio- en Televisieomroeporganisatie|VRT]] (in Dutch): Michelle Martin moves to ex-judge</ref><ref>[https://brandpunt.kro-ncrv.nl/brandpunt/oud-rechter-neemt-ex-vrouw-dutroux-in-huis-ik-heb-ruimte-genoeg/ Website article relating to a Dutch TV program (in Dutch)] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171024152920/https://brandpunt.kro-ncrv.nl/brandpunt/oud-rechter-neemt-ex-vrouw-dutroux-in-huis-ik-heb-ruimte-genoeg/ |date=24 October 2017 }}, TV program about the judge who has given Michelle Martin shelter in his converted farm</ref>

On 4 February 2013, Dutroux requested the court in Brussels for an early release from prison.<ref>{{cite web|title=Marc Dutroux: Child Killer Wants Early Release|url=http://news.sky.com/story/1047478/marc-dutroux-child-killer-wants-early-release|publisher=Sky News (BSkyB)|date=4 February 2013|access-date=18 February 2013|archive-date=8 February 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130208050058/http://news.sky.com/story/1047478/marc-dutroux-child-killer-wants-early-release|url-status=live}}</ref> He insisted that he was "no longer dangerous" and wanted to be released into [[house arrest]] with an electronic tag ([[Electronic tagging|ankle bracelet]]) placed upon him. On 18 February, the court denied his request.<ref>{{cite news|title=Belgium court denies Marc Dutroux release|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-21498535|work=BBC News|date=18 February 2013|access-date=18 February 2013|archive-date=18 February 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130218210149/http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-21498535|url-status=live}}</ref> Dutroux is currently being held in solitary confinement in the prison of [[Nijvel|Nivelles]].<ref>{{cite news| trans-title= Marc Dutroux in court on 4 February to get ankle bracelet| title= Marc Dutroux op 4 februari voor strafuitvoeringsrechtbank voor enkelband| work= [[De Standaard]]| url= http://www.standaard.be/artikel/detail.aspx?artikelid=DMF20121227_00415128| date= 27 December 2012| access-date= 27 December 2012| archive-date= 18 September 2023| archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20230918075351/https://www.standaard.be/cnt/dmf20121227_00415128| url-status= live}}</ref>

In October 2019, Dutroux won the pre-parole right to a psychiatric assessment,<ref>{{Cite web|date=28 October 2019|title=Belgian paedophile serial killer Dutroux wins pre-parole evaluation|url=https://www.rfi.fr/en/europe/20191028-belgian-paedophile-serial-killer-dutroux-wins-pre-parole-evaluation|access-date=15 August 2020|website=RFI|language=en|archive-date=11 November 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201111232029/https://www.rfi.fr/en/europe/20191028-belgian-paedophile-serial-killer-dutroux-wins-pre-parole-evaluation|url-status=live}}</ref> which was supposed to take place in May 2020 but was delayed due to the [[COVID-19 pandemic in Belgium|COVID-19 pandemic]].<ref>{{Cite web|date=6 May 2020|title=Coronavirus delays infamous paedophile Marc Dutroux's pre-parole exam|url=https://www.brusselstimes.com/all-news/belgium-all-news/109873/coronavirus-delays-infamous-paedophile-marc-dutroux-pre-parole-exam/|access-date=15 August 2020|website=The Brussels Times|language=en|archive-date=28 May 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200528231643/https://www.brusselstimes.com/all-news/belgium-all-news/109873/coronavirus-delays-infamous-paedophile-marc-dutroux-pre-parole-exam/|url-status=live}}</ref>

{| class="wikitable"
! scope="col" | Name of suspect
! scope="col" | Profession
! scope="col" | Charged with
! scope="col" | Convicted of
! scope="col" | Sentence
! scope="col" | Release
|-
| Marc Dutroux
| Unemployed electrician, convicted child kidnapper and rapist
| Murder (of An and Eefje as well as Bernard Weinstein), rape, kidnapping (of six girls), conspiracy, drug offenses
| Murder (of An and Eefje as well as Bernard Weinstein), rape, kidnapping (of six girls), conspiracy, drug offenses
| Life in prison
| Eligible for early release after 30 years in 2021
|-
| Michelle Martin
| Housewife
| Kidnapping, murder of Julie and Mélissa
| Convicted of letting Julie and Mélissa starve to death and assisting in the kidnappings
| 30 years' imprisonment
| Released under conditions in 2012 after serving 16 of the 30 years<ref name="kriminalistika" />
|-
| Michel Nihoul
| Businessman
| Kidnapping, conspiracy, gang formation, document fraud, drug trafficking, car smuggling
| Acquitted of kidnapping, document fraud, trading of stolen vehicles<ref name="nytconvicted">{{cite news |last1=Smith |first1=Craig |title=Belgian Man Is Convicted Of Raping and Killing Girls |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2004/06/18/world/belgian-man-is-convicted-of-raping-and-killing-girls.html |website=[[The New York Times]] |date=18 June 2004 |access-date=9 November 2019 |archive-date=30 October 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191030202024/https://www.nytimes.com/2004/06/18/world/belgian-man-is-convicted-of-raping-and-killing-girls.html |url-status=live }}</ref>
| 5 years' imprisonment
| Was released early in May 2006 under conditions<ref name="brf">{{cite web |title=Michel Nihoul wird vorzeitig aus der Haft entlassen |url=https://brf.be/national/6134/ |website=brf.be |date=19 April 2006 |publisher=BRF |access-date=9 November 2019 |archive-date=9 November 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191109171844/https://brf.be/national/6134/ |url-status=live }}</ref>
|-
| Michel Lelièvre
| Drug addict and petty thief
| Kidnapping, rape, murder
| Kidnapping of An, Eefje, Sabine and Laetitia and rape
| 25 years' imprisonment
| Was released under conditions in October 2019<ref name="lesoirlelievre">{{cite web |title=L'avocate de Michel Lelièvre: "Il a mûri, il est prêt à réintégrer la société" |url=https://www.lesoir.be/250659/article/2019-10-01/lavocate-de-michel-lelievre-il-muri-il-est-pret-reintegrer-la-societe |website=lesoir.be |date=October 2019 |publisher=Le Soir |access-date=9 November 2019 |archive-date=9 November 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191109142658/https://www.lesoir.be/250659/article/2019-10-01/lavocate-de-michel-lelievre-il-muri-il-est-pret-reintegrer-la-societe |url-status=live }}</ref>
|}

=== 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.<ref name="guardian" /> 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."<ref name="guardiandungeondeath" /> 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.<ref name="guardian" /> In 2004, at the end of the Dutroux case trial, he was released of all charges of child abduction.<ref>{{cite news |title=Procès Dutroux-bis: Michel Nihoul inculpé, non lieu en vue |url=https://www.lalibre.be/belgique/proces-dutroux-bis-michel-nihoul-inculpe-non-lieu-en-vue-51b8bbdce4b0de6db9bb5234 |access-date=9 April 2020 |agency=Belga |publisher=La libre Belgique |date=3 May 2010 |archive-date=29 January 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210129101219/https://www.lalibre.be/belgique/proces-dutroux-bis-michel-nihoul-inculpe-non-lieu-en-vue-51b8bbdce4b0de6db9bb5234 |url-status=live }}</ref> 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.<ref>{{cite news |title=Non-lieu total pour Michel Nihoul |url=https://www.7sur7.be/belgique/non-lieu-total-pour-michel-nihoul~a00ba434/ |access-date=9 April 2020 |publisher=7 sur 7 |date=20 May 2010 |archive-date=21 April 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220421220059/https://www.7sur7.be/belgique/non-lieu-total-pour-michel-nihoul~a00ba434/ |url-status=live }}</ref>

=== 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<ref name="guardian" />
* Stephane Goux (judge presiding over verdict)<ref name="telegraphkill">{{cite web |last1=Evans-Pritchard |first1=Ambrose |title=Why didn't you kill me, child rape victim asks Dutroux |url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/europe/belarus/1459791/Why-didnt-you-kill-me-child-rape-victim-asks-Dutroux.html |website=telegraph.co.uk |date=20 April 2004 |publisher=telegraph |access-date=8 November 2019 |archive-date=8 November 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191108092325/https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/europe/belarus/1459791/Why-didnt-you-kill-me-child-rape-victim-asks-Dutroux.html |url-status=live }}</ref>
* 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){{citation needed|date=July 2023}}

== 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.<ref>{{cite news | title=Belgian paedophile's namesakes change surnames | date=10 January 1998 | url=https://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/monitoring/46398.stm | work=BBC News | access-date=10 September 2008 | archive-date=4 February 2009 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090204133316/http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/world/monitoring/46398.stm | url-status=live }}</ref>

== 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.<ref name="telegraphcover">{{cite web |last1=Helm |first1=Toby |title=Belgium accused of cover-up in Dutroux inquiry |url=http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/europe/belgium/1337761/Belgium-accused-of-cover-up-in-Dutroux-inquiry.html |archive-url=https://archive.today/20170830231255/http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/europe/belgium/1337761/Belgium-accused-of-cover-up-in-Dutroux-inquiry.html |url-status=dead |archive-date=30 August 2017 |website=telegraph.co.uk |publisher=telegraph |access-date=8 November 2019}}</ref> 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.<ref name="nyt" /> 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.<ref name="telegraphmurder" /><ref name="guardian" /> 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.<ref name="bbc" /><ref name="kriminalistika">{{cite web |title=Marc Dutroux |url=http://kriminalistika.eu/muzeumzla/dutroux/dutroux.html |website=kriminalistika.eu |publisher=kriminalistika |access-date=9 November 2019 |archive-date=24 November 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191124235255/http://kriminalistika.eu/muzeumzla/dutroux/dutroux.html |url-status=live }}</ref>

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.<ref name="guardian" /> He told police that he had been threatened and could not risk saying any more.<ref name="bbc">{{cite web |last1=Frenkiel |first1=Olenka |title=Dutroux and the network|url=https://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/programmes/correspondent_europe/1962263.stm |archive-url=https://archive.today/20130914202108/http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/programmes/correspondent_europe/1962263.stm |url-status=live |archive-date=14 September 2013 |website=washingtonpost.com |publisher=BBC |access-date=8 November 2019}}</ref> 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.<ref name="independentpolicehelp">{{cite web |last1=Castle|first1=Stephen|title=Dutroux says he abducted girls with police help|url=http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/europe/dutroux-says-he-abducted-girls-with-police-help-730764.html|archive-url=https://archive.today/20170412182915/http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/europe/dutroux-says-he-abducted-girls-with-police-help-730764.html|url-status=dead|archive-date=12 April 2017|website=independent |access-date=8 November 2019}}</ref>

Focus was also placed on the material wealth of Dutroux, who owned ten houses. He was in total worth 6 million [[Belgian franc]]s ([[US$]]130,000).<ref name="nytimesbook" /> While he had all of this wealth in property he also received public assistance of $1,200 a month. Documents released by [[WikiLeaks]] 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.{{Citation needed|date=June 2025}} 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.<ref name="nytimesbook" /> 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.<ref name="nieuwsblad">{{cite web |title=Dutroux had zijn lesje geleerd |url=https://www.nieuwsblad.be/cnt/hno19022004_049 |website=nieuwsblad.be |date=13 February 2004 |publisher=Nieuwsblad |access-date=9 November 2019 |archive-date=9 November 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191109172527/https://www.nieuwsblad.be/cnt/hno19022004_049 |url-status=live }}</ref><ref name="britannica">{{cite web |last1=Jenkins |first1=John Philip |title=Marc Dutroux |url=https://www.britannica.com/biography/Marc-Dutroux |website=britannica.com |publisher=Encyclopedia Britannica |access-date=9 November 2019 |archive-date=2 July 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190702145010/https://www.britannica.com/biography/Marc-Dutroux |url-status=live }}</ref>

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]] 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.<ref name="irishtimes">{{cite web |last1=LOVELL |first1=JEREMY |title=Police raid centre of satanic sect |url=https://www.irishtimes.com/news/police-raid-centre-of-satanic-sect-1.118865 |website=irishtimes.com |publisher=irish times |access-date=1 November 2019 |archive-date=7 April 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200407175626/https://www.irishtimes.com/news/police-raid-centre-of-satanic-sect-1.118865 |url-status=live }}</ref> 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.<ref name="nieuwsblad2">{{cite news |title=De satanisten van Abrasax |url=https://www.nieuwsblad.be/cnt/hno19022004_004 |newspaper=Nieuwsblad |date=2 February 2004 |access-date=14 May 2023 |archive-date=14 May 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230514050748/https://www.nieuwsblad.be/cnt/hno19022004_004 |url-status=live }}</ref>

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, [[Regina Louf|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.<ref name="nieuwsblad3">{{cite news |title=X1: ''Onmogelijk, onwaarschijnlijk, oncontroleerbaar'' |url=https://www.nieuwsblad.be/cnt/hno19022004_029 |newspaper=Nieuwsblad |date=5 February 2004 |access-date=14 May 2023 |archive-date=14 May 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230514100510/https://www.nieuwsblad.be/cnt/hno19022004_029 |url-status=live }}</ref> 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.<ref name="nytimesbook" />

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|secretary general of NATO]] present.<ref name="nytimesbook" />

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.<ref name="nytimesbook">{{cite web |last1=James |first1=Barry |title=Belgium Pedophilia Scandal /Did Authorities Cover Up Its Scope?: Book Revives Fear of Grand Conspiracy |url=http://www.nytimes.com/1999/12/16/news/belgium-pedophilia-scandal-did-authorities-cover-up-its-scope-book.html |archive-url=https://archive.today/20170414214607/http://www.nytimes.com/1999/12/16/news/belgium-pedophilia-scandal-did-authorities-cover-up-its-scope-book.html |url-status=dead |archive-date=14 April 2017 |website=[[The New York Times]] |access-date=8 November 2019}}</ref>

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.<ref name="Frenkiel">{{Cite web|url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2002/may/05/dutroux.featuresreview|title=Belgium's silent heart of darkness|last=Frenkiel|first=Olenka|date=5 May 2002|website=The Guardian|access-date=19 November 2018|archive-date=31 August 2017|archive-url=https://archive.today/20170831221935/https://www.theguardian.com/world/2002/may/05/dutroux.featuresreview|url-status=live}}</ref>

== Confirmed victims of Dutroux ==
* Sylvie D., 11, 17 October 1985, abducted and raped.<ref name="nieuwsblad" />
* Maria V., 19, 17 October 1985, abducted and raped.<ref name="nieuwsblad" />
* Élisabeth G., 15, 18 December 1985, abducted and raped. Dutroux took videos and pictures of her.<ref name="nieuwsblad" />
* Axelle D., 14 December 1985, abducted and raped.<ref name="nieuwsblad" />
* Catherine B., 18, 17 January 1986, abducted and raped.<ref name="nieuwsblad" />
* Eva Mackova, 19, July 1994, drugged and raped while on holiday at Dutroux's house in Sars-la-Buissière. Dutroux filmed the acts.<ref name=":3">{{Cite web |last= |date=18 April 2004 |title=Huis clos pour diffusion de vidéos de viols de 3 Slovaques |url=https://www.lalibre.be/belgique/2004/04/19/huis-clos-pour-diffusion-de-videos-de-viols-de-3-slovaques-HQN2J6Q3IJHJ3D5XSNXL3EUZ34/ |access-date=6 September 2024 |website=La Libre |language=fr}}</ref>
* Yanka Mackova, 17, July 1996, drugged and raped while on holiday at Dutroux's in Sars-la-Buissière. Dutroux filmed the acts.<ref name=":3" />
* Henrieta Palusova, 20, 5 June 1995, abducted and raped in [[Topoľčany]] ([[Slovakia]]). Dutroux filmed the acts.<ref name=":3" />
* Mélissa Russo, 8, 24 June 1995, abducted, raped and imprisoned.<ref name="Explainer">{{cite web |url=https://www.euronews.com/my-europe/2019/10/27/explainer-paedophile-marc-dutroux-and-the-horror-case-that-united-a-divided-belgium |title=Explainer: Paedophile Marc Dutroux and the horror case that united a divided Belgium |work=Euronews |author=Lindsey Johnstone |date=27 October 2019 |access-date=5 July 2023 |archive-date=5 July 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230705091203/https://www.euronews.com/my-europe/2019/10/27/explainer-paedophile-marc-dutroux-and-the-horror-case-that-united-a-divided-belgium |url-status=live }}</ref> Died of starvation and dehydration,<ref name="guardian" /> found in Sars-la-Buissiere.
* Julie Lejeune, 8, 24 June 1995, abducted, raped and imprisoned.<ref name="Explainer" /> Died of starvation and dehydration,<ref name="guardian" /> found in Sars-la-Buissiere.
* An Marchal, 17, 23 August 1995,<ref name="telegraphcover" /> abducted, imprisoned, and raped. Killed by being buried alive after being wrapped in plastic, found August 1996.<ref name="telegraphburied" />
* Eefje Lambrecks, 19, 23 August 1995,<ref name="telegraphcover" /> abducted, imprisoned, and raped. Killed by being buried alive after being wrapped in plastic, found August 1996.<ref name="telegraphburied">{{cite web |last1=Evans-Pritchard |first1=Ambrose |title=Two girls were buried alive by Dutroux, Belgian court is told |url=http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/europe/belgium/1455896/Two-girls-were-buried-alive-by-Dutroux-Belgian-court-is-told.html |archive-url=https://archive.today/20170414213202/http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/europe/belgium/1455896/Two-girls-were-buried-alive-by-Dutroux-Belgian-court-is-told.html |url-status=dead |archive-date=14 April 2017 |website=telegraph.co.uk |publisher=telegraph |access-date=8 November 2019}}</ref>
* Sabine Dardenne, 12, 28 May 1996, abducted, chained by neck for 80 days, and raped repeatedly.<ref name="dhnet2" />
* Laetitia Delhez, 14, 9 August 1996, abducted,<ref name="IND">{{cite news |author1=Timothy W. Ryback |title=Crying out loud |work=[[The Independent Magazine]] |date=15 March 1997 |pages=26–30}}</ref> chained to a bed, and raped repeatedly.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.smh.com.au/world/dutrouxs-second-survivor-speaks-of-rape-and-pain-20040422-gdis8g.html |title=Dutroux's second survivor speaks of rape and pain |work=The Sydney Morning Herald |date=22 April 2004 |access-date=5 July 2023 |archive-date=5 July 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230705090012/https://www.smh.com.au/world/dutrouxs-second-survivor-speaks-of-rape-and-pain-20040422-gdis8g.html |url-status=live }}</ref>

== 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]] is most often cited in the media. All victims were held captive here in the basement and bedroom. The municipality of [[Charleroi]] 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]], an owner has the last right to visit a house. Therefore, Dutroux visited this house on 10 September 2009, under heavy police guard.<ref>{{cite news|url= http://www.standaard.be/Artikel/Detail.aspx?artikelId=4H2F1V1A&subsection=3|title= Dutroux nog één keer naar huis|trans-title= Dutroux even home once|language= nl|first= Steven|last= De Bock|work= De Standaard|date= 11 September 2009|access-date= 13 August 2015|archive-date= 29 September 2012|archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20120929082503/http://www.standaard.be/Artikel/Detail.aspx?artikelId=4H2F1V1A&subsection=3|url-status= live}}</ref> Demolition of this house started at 6 June 2022. A commemorative garden has been built in its place.<ref>{{cite web |author1=[[VRT NWS]] |title=Gruwelhuis van seriemoordenaar Marc Dutroux wordt afgebroken: "Belangrijk om bladzijde om te slaan" |url=https://www.vrt.be/vrtnws/nl/2022/06/07/in-marcinelle-is-de-afbraak-opgestart-van-het-gruwelhuis-van-ser\ |access-date=7 June 2022 |language=nl |date=7 June 2022 }}{{Dead link|date=March 2023 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}</ref>
* A house in [[Jumet]], 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]]. Julie Lejeune and Mélissa Russo were held captive here for a short while after their kidnapping.
* A house in [[Sars-la-Buissière]]. The bodies of Lejeune, Russo and Weinstein were found buried in the garden. The house was bought by the municipality of [[Lobbes]] in the first months of 2009. It is planned to make a park with a monument commemorating Dutroux's victims here.
<gallery>
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]].
File:Maison Marc Dutroux - Marchienne-au-Pont.jpg|House owned by Dutroux in [[Marchienne-au-Pont]].
</gallery>

== 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).<ref>[http://www.standaard.be/artikel/detail.aspx?artikelid=DEXA23022004_028 De moord waar geen haan naar kraaide], De Standaard, 20 februari 2004</ref>
* '''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.
* {{anchor|AnchorSpaghetti}}'''15 October 1996''' – The so-called "spaghetti judgement" ({{langx|fr|arrêt spaghetti|italics=yes}}): 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 apprehended 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 resignations 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.<ref>[http://www.standaard.be/artikel/detail.aspx?artikelid=DST30042003_005 Proces-Dutroux of Dutroux-Nihoul? Gerecht hakt knopen door na bijna zeven jaar], www.standaard.be, 30 April 2003</ref><ref>[http://www.standaard.be/artikel/detail.aspx?artikelid=DMF30042003_002 Nihoul naar assisen], www.standaard.be, 1 mei 2003</ref>
* '''8 December 2003''' – Attorney Bourlet files the 27-page indictment.<ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20071028110022/http://www.observatoirecitoyen.be/IMG/pdf/Acte_d_accusation.pdf Acte d'accusation], Luiks Hof van Beroep, 8 December 2003</ref>

=== 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.<ref name="watmetdutrouxlelievre">[http://www.standaard.be/artikel/detail.aspx?artikelid=4G39UOAP Wat met Dutroux en Lelièvre?], www.standaard.be, 10 mei 2011</ref>
* '''May 2006''' - Michel Nihoul is released under conditions.<ref name="brf" />
* '''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.<ref name="watmetdutrouxlelievre" />
* '''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.<ref>[http://nieuws.vtm.be/binnenland/201209167884-dutroux-vindt-dat-hij-genoeg-heeft-geboet Dutroux vindt dat hij genoeg heeft geboet] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150325174718/http://nieuws.vtm.be/binnenland/201209167884-dutroux-vindt-dat-hij-genoeg-heeft-geboet |date=25 March 2015 }}, www.vtm.be, 16 September 2012</ref>

=== 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]], the Minister of Internal Affairs [[Joëlle Milquet]], and a week later by the Prime Minister [[Elio Di Rupo]].
* '''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.<ref>[http://www.deredactie.be/cm/vrtnieuws/binnenland/120828_MichelleMartin Hof van Cassatie bevestigt vrijlating van Martin], www.deredactie.be, 28 augustus 2012</ref><ref>[http://www.deredactie.be/cm/vrtnieuws/binnenland/120828_MichelleMartin_Malonne Michelle Martin is aangekomen in Malonne], www.deredactie.be, 28 augustus 2012</ref>
* '''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.<ref>''Zwaar gestraften blijven langer in de cel'', De Standaard, 6 September 2012, p. 8-9</ref>
* '''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).<ref>[http://www.deredactie.be/permalink/1.1430170 Dutroux wil met enkelband vrijkomen], VRT Journaal 7u, www.deredactie.be, 14 September 2012</ref> 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.<ref>[http://www.standaard.be/artikel/detail.aspx?artikelid=DMF20120914_196 Advocaat wist niet dat Dutroux aanvraag voor enkelband indiende], www.standaard.be, 14 September 2012</ref>
* '''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.<ref name="lesoirlelievre" />
* '''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.<ref name="nytimespsy">{{cite news |last1=Peltier |first1=Elian |title=Notorious Killer's Bid for Parole Reopens Old Wounds in Belgium |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2019/10/29/world/europe/marc-dutroux-release-parole.html |website=[[The New York Times]] |date=29 October 2019 |access-date=25 December 2019}}</ref><ref name="sudinfo">{{cite web |title=Demande de libération de Marc Dutroux: l'audience devant le TAP est terminée, une décision sur l'expertise psychiatrique rendue le 28 octobre |url=https://www.sudinfo.be/id146954/article/2019-10-17/demande-de-liberation-de-marc-dutroux-laudience-devant-le-tap-est-terminee-une |website=sudinfo.be |date=17 October 2019 |publisher=Sud Info |access-date=25 December 2019}}</ref> In May 2020, Dutroux's pre-parole hearing was delayed by the [[COVID-19 pandemic in Belgium|COVID-19 pandemic]].<ref>{{cite news |title=Coronavirus delays infamous paedophile Marc Dutroux's pre-parole exam |url=https://www.brusselstimes.com/all-news/belgium-all-news/109873/coronavirus-delays-infamous-paedophile-marc-dutroux-pre-parole-exam/ |access-date=7 August 2020 |work=The Brussels Times |date=6 May 2020 |language=en}}</ref>
* '''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.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.thebulletin.be/no-parole-marc-dutroux-after-damning-psychiatric-report|title=No parole for Marc Dutroux after damning psychiatric report|date=26 October 2020|access-date=23 August 2023|publisher=The Bulletin|language=en}}</ref>
* '''26 August 2022''' - Michelle Martin is unconditionally released.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.vrt.be/vrtnws/en/2022/08/24/former-wife-of-child-killer-marc-dutroux-to-be-released-without/|title=Former wife of child killer Marc Dutroux to be a free woman without conditions|date=24 August 2022|access-date=23 August 2023|publisher=VRT News|language=en}}</ref>

== See also ==
* [[Jean-Denis Lejeune]]
* [[Carine Russo]]
*[[Alcàsser Girls]]
* [[List of prison escapes]]
* [[List of serial killers by country]]
* [[Moors murders]]
* [[Sachsensumpf]]
* [[Death of Katrien De Cuyper]]
* [[Regina Louf]]
* [[Jimmy Savile]]

== References ==
'''Citations'''
{{Reflist}}

'''Sources'''
*[https://web.archive.org/web/20040311052235/http://www.just.fgov.be/proces-arlon/en/arlon-trial.html The official indictment]
*[https://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/2795545.stm BBC News on Sabine Dardenne]
*[https://web.archive.org/web/20060107144312/http://www.crimelibrary.com/serial_killers/predators/dutroux/evil_1.html Dutroux at CrimeLibrary]
*[https://web.archive.org/web/20070205201327/http://www.unhchr.ch/Huridocda/Huridoca.nsf/TestFrame/6643e3a189372013c12566080033e53e?Opendocument United Nations High Commission on Human Rights report criticizing changes in the Belgian Constitution due to the case]

== External links ==
*{{Commons category-inline}}

{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Dutroux, Marc}}
[[Category:Marc Dutroux| ]]
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[[Category:20th-century Belgian criminals]]
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[[Category:Belgian murderers of children]]
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[[Category:Belgian serial killers]]
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[[Category:People convicted of child pornography offenses]]
[[Category:People convicted of murder by Belgium]]
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