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Dutroux, Zandvoort: when institutions protect the perpetrators

  There are cases that should never be forgotten. Not because they are fascinating. Because they reveal something unbearable about the world we live in: that children can be tortured, raped, killed — and that their tormentors can be protected by those who should be pursuing them. The Dutroux case began in 1996 as a topic for sensationalist news and became a political and judicial earthquake. Marc Dutroux was sentenced in 2004 to life imprisonment for the abduction, rape, and murder of young girls and teenagers — Julie and Mélissa, An and Eefje, Sabine and Laëtitia. The shock caused in the...

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Epstein: The Network of the Powerful, Organized Impunity

Epstein: The Network of the Powerful, Organized Impunity His name has become synonymous with a truth that the world’s elites would like to erase: child sexual abuse is not just the work of lone predators lurking in the shadows. It can thrive in broad daylight, protected by the powerful, covered up by institutions, and tolerated by those who know about it but remain silent. The “Epstein Files” consist of millions of pages of documents declassified by the U.S. Department of Justice between 2024 and 2026. Comprising emails, photos, videos, and contact lists, these documents reveal serious...

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Child Sexual Abuse and Impunity: The Crime Our Societies Refuse to Face Head-On

Child Sexual Abuse and Impunity: The Crime Our Societies Refuse to Face Head-On There is a crime that our societies have a particular way of dealing with: acknowledging it only half-heartedly, condemning the perpetrators, and carefully keeping those who order, finance, and protect them in the shadows. Organized child sexual abuse is that crime. From Dutroux to Epstein, from Zandvoort to the scandals that erupt every year within our institutions—the National Education System, sports, and child welfare services—a common thread emerges: the child sexual abuse network involves powerful...

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The Judge Who Offered Up His Daughter, Le Scouarnec, and the Impunity of the Powerful

The Judge Who Offered Up His Daughter, Le Scouarnec, and the Impunity of the Powerful There are cases that say it all. Cases that encapsulate in a single instance the horror of a system—its failures, its silences, and the impunity of those who should have been the guardians of the most vulnerable. A 55-year-old former juvenile court judge from Dijon has been indicted for offering his 12-year-old daughter for rape on swingers’ websites. He posted photos of the child in a swimsuit to illustrate his ads. After being indicted, he was released and placed under simple judicial supervision....

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