Belgian child killer's mother warns against his early release

BRUSSELS (Reuters) - The mother of Marc Dutroux, Belgium's most notorious child killer, said he would re-offend if released early, in an interview published on Monday hours before a court was due to decide on his parole.

Marc Dutroux, who was convicted of kidnapping and raping six girls and murdering four of them in the 1990s, launched a bid this month for early release, even though he has practically no chance of success.

"I am certain he will start again," 78-year-old Jeannine told Le Soir Magazine in her first public comments since her son was jailed for life in 2004.

"Marc isn't ready to be released because he still wants to attribute to others the responsibility for what he did," she told the publication, which is usually published on Wednesday but rushed out a Monday edition with the interview.

Dutroux's case sent shockwaves through Belgium because of the horrific nature of the murders, and the fact that Belgian police visited one of Dutroux's houses while two victims, both eight years old, were being held there without finding them.

The two later starved to death in a makeshift dungeon.

Under Belgian law, criminals can be freed after serving a third of their sentences, or after 15 years in the case of those who have received life.

Dutroux, who was arrested in 1996, was sentenced to life in 2004. He had already served two extra years under a separate charge, allowing him to request early release this year.

(Reporting by Ben Deighton; Editing by Andrew Heavens)