A serial killer dubbed ‘Le Monstre’ has achieved infamy following some of the most heinous crimes ever documented.

His appalling acts not only left the families of his victims utterly destroyed, but also had a profound social impact on Belgian society. His catalogue of crimes encompassed the murder, abduction, rape and torture of children and teenagers, whilst also constructing a homemade dungeon in which to imprison them.

Indeed, he is widely considered one of the world’s most dangerous paedophiles as a result of his chilling deeds.

Belgium’s most infamous killer, Marc Dutroux, perpetrated horrific sexual crimes against young girls and children, frequently resulting in their deaths.

His crimes were so appalling that on one occasion, two eight-year-old children were discovered starved to death in his torture chamber, which doubled as a homemade dungeon, after his wife – a collaborator in several of his terrifying crimes – deliberately neglected to feed them.

From his youth, Dutroux had an extensive history of juvenile delinquency and criminal behaviour, with the severity of his offences only intensifying as he grew older, reports the Mirror.

Working as an electrician, Dutroux was initially convicted of five sexual assaults in 1989 for the kidnapping and rape of five young girls, receiving a prison sentence of 13 years and six months.

Nevertheless, the paedophile was freed back into the community after serving merely three years of his sentence owing to good behaviour.

During his incarceration, Dutroux allegedly duped a healthcare professional into believing he was mentally disabled, thereby securing state-approved sedatives which he later used to drug his young victims upon release.

This was followed by an even more horrifying series of crimes, each more chilling than the last, leading to widespread terror and tragedy amongst Belgium’s populace.

In the four years after his premature release, Dutroux kidnapped and sexually abused an unknown number of young girls, some of whom he is believed to have murdered.

With the assistance of several accomplices, including his wife, the infamous serial killer is also suspected of selling numerous children into slavery abroad.

In June 1995, eight-year-old classmates Julie Lejeune and Mélissa Russo were likely abducted by Dutroux while out for a walk and taken to his house in Marcinelle (one of at least seven properties he owned in Belgium).

Dutroux is reported to have kept the children captive in his dungeon of horror, subjecting them to repeated sexual abuse and filming child pornography videos of the atrocities.

Two months later, in August, Dutroux and his accomplice Michel Lelièvre kidnapped Eefje Lambrecks, 19, and An Marchal, 17. The teenagers were reportedly chained in a bedroom in his house as the dungeon was already occupied by his eight-year-old victims.

In a horrifying turn of events in September, the two girls were brutally murdered by Dutroux and his accomplice Bernard Weinstein, allegedly being buried alive. In a chilling twist, Weinstein was reportedly killed by Dutroux, also buried alive, in an attempt to evade law enforcement.

In December of the same year, Dutroux was apprehended by the police on charges of vehicle theft.

Shockingly, he left instructions for his wife, Michelle Martin, to feed the eight-year-old children still held captive in their dungeon. However, Martin failed to do so, leading to their tragic death from starvation.

In a shocking development, Dutroux was released from prison after serving four months for car theft.

In May 1996, Dutroux abducted 12-year-old Sabine Dardenne, who suffered repeated sexual abuse at the hands of the serial killer. On August 9 of that year, Dutroux and his accomplice Lelièvre kidnapped Laëtitia Delhez, 14, adding to his horrific tally of child victims.

August 13 marked the arrest of both Dutroux and Lelièvre, leading to the rescue of Sabine and Laëtitia.

Alongside the remains of his victims, a vast collection of pornographic videos were recovered from various locations linked to Dutroux across Belgium.

On October 20, 1996, an estimated 300,000 Belgian citizens staged a protest known as ‘The White March’.

The demonstration was sparked by widespread allegations of police corruption within the Belgian force, perceived mishandling of investigations – including the failure to locate eight-year-old Julie and Mélissa during an initial search of Dutroux’s property, and calls for wider criminal justice reform in Belgium.

Dutroux’s former wife, Michelle Martin, along with Michel Lelièvre and Michel Nihoul, were all brought to trial as accomplices. Martin, now Dutroux’s ex-wife, was handed a 30-year prison sentence.

However, she was granted parole after serving just 16 years behind bars. In 2019, Michel Lelièvre was released from prison having served 23 years of his 25-year sentence.

Dutroux was given a life sentence on June 17 , 2004, and remains incarcerated to this day.