Editing Marc Dutroux (section)

== Early life ==
Marc Dutroux was born in [[Ixelles]], [[Brussels-Capital Region|Brussels]], on 6 November 1956<ref>{{cite encyclopedia|year=2009|title=Marc Dutroux|encyclopedia=[[Encyclopædia Britannica]]|url=https://www.britannica.com/biography/Marc-Dutroux}}</ref> to Victor Dutroux and Jeanine Lauwens. He is the eldest of five children.<ref name="profile">{{cite news |title=Profile: Marc Dutroux |date=17 June 2004 |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/3522367.stm |publisher=BBC News |access-date=18 March 2022 |archive-date=16 June 2004 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20040616063314/http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/3522367.stm |url-status=live }}</ref> Dutroux spent part of his early childhood in [[Burundi]], then part of the [[Belgian Congo]], where his father worked as a teacher. After Burundi gained independence in mid-1962, Dutroux's family moved back to Belgium and settled in the village of Obaix in [[Hainaut Province]].<ref>1999, Bulté, Annemie; De Coninck, Douglas; and Van Heeswyck, Marie-Jean. ''The X-Files: What Belgium Should Not Have Known About the Dutroux Affair''. EPO, 1999.</ref> Dutroux later reported to have been [[child abuse|abused]] by his mother and father.{{fact|date=February 2025}}

In 1972, Dutroux's parents [[marital separation|separated]] and his father left the family home. Shortly after graduating from school, Dutroux left home himself and made his living as an [[electrician]].<ref>{{Cite news |last=Smith |first=Craig S. |date=June 23, 2004 |title=Belgian Gets Life for Raping and Murdering Girls |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2004/06/23/world/belgian-gets-life-for-raping-and-murdering-girls.html |page=A-4 |edition=National}}</ref> Several years later, in 1976, Dutroux married Françoise Dubois, with whom he had two children. The marriage was marred by Dutroux's abusive behaviour towards his family; the couple would divorce in 1983, with Françoise keeping custody of the children.{{citation needed|date=July 2023}}