BELGIUM
Washington Post
Accomplice, ex-wife of Belgian pedophile killer settles into convent life after early release
By Associated Press, Updated: Wednesday, August 29
BRUSSELS — The screaming, insults and scuffles that accompanied the nighttime arrival of one of Belgium’s most despised criminals at a bucolic convent have abated.
A local legislator who suggested in a Tweet that Michelle Martin, the woman who let two 8-year-old girls starve to death in a cellar and helped her pedophile husband carry out horrific abuse 16 years ago, should be “taken down,” said on Wednesday that his comment should not be taken seriously.
And political talk is centering on how to toughen the conditions for early release in Belgium to avoid having a criminal like Martin walk free after serving only 16 years of her 30-year sentence.
Meanwhile, Martin started her first day at the Clarisse convent in the village of Malonne on Wednesday. She will have to work for 20 hours a week to compensate for her living costs as she seeks, in the words of her lawyer, atonement for her crimes.
Note: This is an Abuse Tracker excerpt. Click the title to view the full text of the original article. If the original article is no longer available, see our News Archive.