A man in Molenbeek is on trial for "terrorising an entire building" for more than two years by intimidating its residents, and physically assaulting two teenage boys as their father lay dying, a lawyer representing one of the victims told The Brussels Times.
On 4 March, after discovering what looked like a replica firearm in a cellar, police were called to Rue des Béguines in Molenbeek-Saint-Jean. There, Francky D., 25, reportedly told police at that time the gun belonged to him and that he had used it to shoot a music video the previous day.
However, when police took in several residents for questioning, allegations of a pattern of violence emerged.
This week, Francky D. appeared before the Brussels Criminal Court after being accused of a series of offences brought by building residents and former partners. The Prosecutor has requested a four-year prison sentence, according to La Dernière Heure (DH).
In court, a mother of two teenage boys told the judge that D. was a constant menace to her family; he regularly threatened and assaulted her sons when they failed to carry out household chores for him or did not follow his orders. Attorney Laura Jouvenot, who represents the mother and the two teenage boys, described the teenagers in court as having been treated like "real slaves".
D.'s lawyer, meanwhile, argued in court that because the boys' father was ailing and had since died, he had put his faith in the young man to help the family. The lawyer also said that he had put his children under D.'s tutelage.
However, defence attorney Laura Davidt, who was present at court, told The Brussels Times that any form of parental authority over the two boys was ruled out. "He had no authority over the children," she said, stressing that their mother was still living with them.
Davidt represents another alleged victim in the case, an adult man identified as Bilal G., who said he was subject to harassment, threats and violence over a period of two years.
"According to the statements and the case file, he was violent with everyone. He terrorised everyone, demanded money from everyone, and he had settled there and was living there, and there was no way to get him to leave," she said.
In court, the two teenage boys and Bilal G. presented the judge with a medical notice of post-traumatic stress.
'Everyone was afraid of him'
The case also concerns allegations of domestic violence involving three of Francky D.'s former partners.
Two have withdrawn their allegations, but police reportedly documented signs of panic and injuries, while a third woman joined the proceedings as a civil party.
CCTV cameras installed in the common areas of the building captured violence against the teenagers, and police records showed three previous interventions at the address, according to DH.
Davidt told The Brussels Times that footage recorded over several days also showed Francky D. allegedly assaulting a partner. "In just one week, in a few days, we saw him assault his partner three times," she said.
Footage also showed him attacking a cat on one occasion, although he is not being prosecuted over that alleged incident.
The representative of the Public Prosecutor's Office told the court that it was the first time she had encountered "such a level of violence and so many victims", according to DH. She added that people feared what the defendant could do once released.
Franky D.'s lawyers did not contest the essence of the allegations but argued that many have been exaggerated, particularly those concerning the defendant's neighbours.
'The idea is not simply to punish him'
Davidt said the impact on her client and the other victims is dire. However, she stressed that civil parties are not seeking punishment at any cost.
"The idea isn't to want, at all costs, for this young man to be condemned and put at the stake," she said. Instead, the aim was for him to understand the seriousness of his actions, rebuild his life and avoid harming other people in the future.
She also said that according to medical records presented in court, Franky D. could suffer from borderline personality disorder.
The Brussels Criminal Court is expected to deliver its judgment on 5 October.
