2024-01-05 15:25:00
A couple from Wetteren and one of their acquaintances, an antiques dealer by profession, risk, before the Tongeren criminal court, a sentence of between 60 and 100 hours of work for the theft and concealment of two statues of saints which were in places of worship Catholic from Burg-Reuland, in the province of Liège.
The couple went to Maldingen in June 2021 and visited St. John’s Church as well as a chapel in Aldringen, a neighboring village in the same German-speaking municipality. The man, aged 58, said he wanted revenge for the abuse he suffered as a child at the hands of a priest and stole a statue of Matthew, more than 100 years old, from the church. A witness saw him flee the church with a large bag and rush into a car, driven by his wife. A little later, it emerged that a statue of the Virgin had also disappeared from the Maldingen chapel.
The couple was quickly identified by investigators using images from ANPR cameras (plate recognition, Editor’s note). The two works had in the meantime been sold to an acquaintance of the couple, an antique dealer. He claimed not to have known that the statues were stolen, which the prosecution considered impossible. The couple faces work sentences of 75 to 100 hours, while the antique dealer faces a sentence of 60 hours. All three might also face a fine of 800 euros.
They will know their fate on February 2.
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