Five Brussels police officers arrested on sex offence charges in Liège

Five police officers from the Brussels Capital-Ixelles police department were arrested on Tuesday in an investigation by the public prosecutor's office in Liège. The officers, who live in Liège and work in Brussels, are suspected of committing rape and sexual assaults.

After a hearing, two of the officers were released. The other three will be referred to the Liège prosecutor's office on Wednesday and will go before an investigating judge, according to Catherine Collignon, first deputy prosecutor in Liège.

"This morning the General Inspectorate and our Internal Affairs Department made an intervention in the traffic department," said a police spokesperson on Tuesday.

"Five officers were arrested for offences that took place within the private sphere. They were taken for questioning at the request of the Public Prosecutor's Office of Liège. The chief constable has requested additional information from the public prosecutor's office in order to take the appropriate measures."

Catherine Collignon later confirmed the police statement: "I can confirm that five Brussels police officers were arrested this morning, all of whom are living in Liège," she said.

"They are suspected of rape, sexual assault and voyeurism. Two of them were released after questioning, the three others will be arraigned tomorrow before the investigating judge. We won't give any more information at this time."