Defence enters final pleas in Dutroux case

Defence lawyers entered final pleas today ahead of the sentencing of Marc Dutroux as Belgium awaited closure of a child rape and murder trial that horrified the nation.

Prosecutors have asked the court in the southeastern Belgian town of Arlon to send Dutroux to prison for the rest of his life, calling him a psychopath and unrepentant paedophile who threatened to strike again.