After starting with the missing children panic, my research into the missing pieces of the Dutroux case leads me to prostitution networks and their never ending ramifications.
I mostly agree with ISGP, I think Toussaint’s approach to the X witnesses is a flawed one. I haven’t gotten to the X witnesses yet but I mentioned it at the beginning of this piece and of course PART III won’t simply be a retelling of Toussaint’s experience with the X witnesses case - I think his experience with VM1 is interesting and adds layers to the X witnesses but I think throwing x1 under the bus and acting like she’s the whole reason the investigation ended like he does is wrong
Thanks for your response. I found it a bit odd that you didn't cite or critique Joël van der Reijden in Part I or Part II, given how extensive and meticulous his work on the Dutroux affair is. Hope to see some discussion of it in Part III, along with some discussion of Aime Billé's 2024 book.
ISGP has been the only source in English language about Dutroux and the Belgian x files for many years now and indeed it’s absolutely titanous work - I didn’t quote Joël because I simply didn’t know he was the author on the website, but I absolutely respect the amount of research and work put in. My approach has been to try and shine a light on some of the lesser known stories surrounding the Dutroux affair, with so many not making it to English, and so I’ve been trying to get away from the usual stuff about the Belgian X files, until now, which is why I’ve never properly engaged with the author or the content. I’ve been recommending the ISGP page as the best English speaking summary of the X files book and the Dutroux case for years now, whenever someone is looking for something in English. I also remember hearing stories about Toussaint before, especially about how he didn’t really write his first book, and Xavier did all the work. And Aimé Bille’s book is absolutely on my agenda on here! I’ll try to scan some books in the future as well. It’s a long process and I’m only starting out, I’m trying to read a lot and write a lot. Thank you for your comments as well, I’m glad to see people following this page are as interested as I am in these cases, it’s the best attention I could hope for with this project
What do you think of this review? https://isgp-studies.com/belgium-marc-toussaint-xavier-rossey-tous-manipules
I mostly agree with ISGP, I think Toussaint’s approach to the X witnesses is a flawed one. I haven’t gotten to the X witnesses yet but I mentioned it at the beginning of this piece and of course PART III won’t simply be a retelling of Toussaint’s experience with the X witnesses case - I think his experience with VM1 is interesting and adds layers to the X witnesses but I think throwing x1 under the bus and acting like she’s the whole reason the investigation ended like he does is wrong
Thanks for your response. I found it a bit odd that you didn't cite or critique Joël van der Reijden in Part I or Part II, given how extensive and meticulous his work on the Dutroux affair is. Hope to see some discussion of it in Part III, along with some discussion of Aime Billé's 2024 book.
By the way, Toussaint re-released his book last year https://www.coollibri.com/bibliotheque-en-ligne/marc-toussaint/tous-manipules_701783 you can click Feuilleter to see why.
Also, Patrick Haemers is the protagonist of Anneke Lucas' book, which provides some additional corroboration for his ties to the network. Basri Bajrami's daughter was working on a book a few years ago https://www.hln.be/binnenland/kelly-dochter-van-topgangster-basri-bajrami-mijn-papa-maakte-drie-doden-en-hij-is-er-fier-op~a8fece89 but it seems that it has been abandoned.
If you have full scans of some of the books that you cite that aren't already on shadow libraries, it would be great if you could share them.
ISGP has been the only source in English language about Dutroux and the Belgian x files for many years now and indeed it’s absolutely titanous work - I didn’t quote Joël because I simply didn’t know he was the author on the website, but I absolutely respect the amount of research and work put in. My approach has been to try and shine a light on some of the lesser known stories surrounding the Dutroux affair, with so many not making it to English, and so I’ve been trying to get away from the usual stuff about the Belgian X files, until now, which is why I’ve never properly engaged with the author or the content. I’ve been recommending the ISGP page as the best English speaking summary of the X files book and the Dutroux case for years now, whenever someone is looking for something in English. I also remember hearing stories about Toussaint before, especially about how he didn’t really write his first book, and Xavier did all the work. And Aimé Bille’s book is absolutely on my agenda on here! I’ll try to scan some books in the future as well. It’s a long process and I’m only starting out, I’m trying to read a lot and write a lot. Thank you for your comments as well, I’m glad to see people following this page are as interested as I am in these cases, it’s the best attention I could hope for with this project