Dutroux guilty of child rape and murder

The man whose spate of child abductions, rapes and murders shocked Europe was convicted yesterday of a series of horrific crimes, confirming his reputation as Belgium's most notorious criminal.

A jury in Arlon convicted 47-year-old Marc Dutroux of murdering two teenage girls and killing an associate, bringing to a close an eight-year saga which has haunted Belgian society. His ex-wife, Michelle Martin, was held responsible for the deaths of two eight-year-old girls who starved to death in a cellar of their home while Dutroux served a prison sentence for car theft.

Michel Lelievre, a drifter, was convicted of complicity in the kidnappings and other charges. The final co-defendant, Michel Nihoul, was convicted only of being part of a gang that smuggled drugs and people into Belgium. The verdicts indicated that the jury of eight women and four men were not convinced by the theory that Dutroux was a pawn in a wider paedophile ring connected to the highest reaches of Belgian society.

Even his own defence lawyer admitted that Dutroux was "the most detested man in Belgium". Yesterday he was found guilty of a series of kidnappings and of murdering An Marchal, 17, and Eefje Lambrecks, 19, as well as an alleged accomplice, Bernard Weinstein. All three were drugged, then buried alive. Weinstein was tortured first. The bodies were found buried on Dutroux's property.

The two eight-year-olds, who disappeared while playing near their home, were held in an underground cell. Martin said that when Dutroux served a short jail term for car theft she was too afraid to go downstairs to feed the two girls.

The last victims, Sabine Dardenne, then 12, and Laetitia Delhez, then 14, were rescued from the basement prison two days after Dutroux's arrest in August 1996.

Relatives leaving the courtroom expressed satisfaction that at least some guilty verdicts were returned against all four. "They are guilty of everything, even the killings, even the torture," said Paul Marchal, the father of An Marchal.

Louisa Lejeune, mother of one of the eight-year-olds, said: "This has confirmed what I thought. They worked together.The recognition of this is a relief." Her husband said he would have preferred an admission of guilt for the kidnapping of his daughter, Julie. Dutroux had denied involvement. "Finally we will be able to punish these assassins," said Jeanine Lejeune, grandmother of one of the victims, as she entered the court to hear the verdicts.

Dutroux, who faces life in prison, was out on parole at the time of the crimes, a revelation that stirred national outrage.

Dutroux's brief escape from jail in 1998 led to the resignation of the Belgian justice and interior ministers as well as the chief of the state police force.