Belgian X-Dossiers

The Belgian X-Dossiers is a reference to dossiers related to the Dutroux Affair, which first broke out in 1996. In the aftermath of the arrest of Dutroux and some of his accomplices, a number of alleged victim-witnesses of child abuse networks came forward. These "X" witnesses spoke about their experiences in these networks and mentioned the names of a number of very prominent individuals as being involved in the abuse. Especially victim-witness X1 received a lot of attention, but ultimately the testimonies of these witnesses were not taken serious by the media, nor the Belgian Justice Department. As a result the X-Dossiers were closed down and separated from the Dutroux dossier.

A number of investigative journalists, magistrates and gendarmerie officials never agreed with the conclusions of the media and the Belgian Justice Department. They all claim the testimonies of the X-witnesses should have been taken much more serious and that a lot of follow-up investigating should have been done.