Jan Lambrecks (R), father of Eefje Lambrecks, a victim of
Belgian child murderer Marc Dutroux, is accompanied by an
unidentified woman while arriving at the Palace of Justice
in Brussels. REUTERS/Yves Herman
A Belgian court has denied parole to child killer Marc
Dutroux, ruling he could not be freed with a security tag on
his ankle as there was no prospect of him fitting back into
society.
Dutroux, 56, was sentenced in 2004 to life in prison for
kidnapping and raping six girls and killing four of them in
the 1990s. In prison since his 1996 arrest, he became
eligible this year to request early release with an
electronic ankle band.
The court said that it considered whether Dutroux would be
able to integrate into society, whether he would commit new
crimes, whether he would seek contact with the victims and
whether he showed remorse regarding his victims.
"The court analysed the first issue and came to the
conclusion that there was evidence against. This gives the
court the opportunity to immediately deny the request," Luc
Hennaert, court president, told reporters after the hearing.
Neither Dutroux nor his lawyer attended the court session.
In Belgium, electronic ankle bands are often used to allow
police to monitor a detainee's whereabouts outside prison and
to alert them if the person moves beyond a permitted area.
The Dutroux case has deeply traumatised Belgium because of
the horrific nature of the murders and because of perceived
errors made during investigations.
Belgian police visited one of Dutroux's houses where two
victims, both eight years old, were being held and failed to
find them. The two later starved to death in a makeshift
dungeon.
Jean Lambrecks, the father of Eefje Lambrecks who was
kidnapped and killed by Dutroux when she was 19 years old,
told reporters outside the court he was satisfied with the
ruling.
"I hope he will sit out his sentence completely," he said.
Dutroux, who can make another request for an ankle band in
February 2014, will have to appear before a judge again in
April 2013 to discuss a full conditional release.
His former wife and accomplice, Michelle Martin, was released
from prison in July last year and sent to a convent after
serving half of her term.
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