Grégory Lenoci has been sentenced to 17 years in prison for the attempted murder of his neighbour, Marc P., whom he violently attacked after accusing him of sexually abusing his stepson.
The Namur Criminal Court handed down its verdict this Thursday, bringing an end to a case that has attracted considerable attention in Belgium.
According to Sudinfo, Lenoci will also be placed at the disposal of the sentence enforcement court for 10 years. The court found him guilty of attempted murder and rejected the defence’s argument that he had acted under “irresistible compulsion.”
The attack took place on 24 July 2025, after Lenoci invited his neighbour to his home to confront him about allegations involving his stepson. During the trial, Lenoci said that his neighbour had spoken about a “secret game” allegedly involving the child. “It was at that moment that I lost control,” Lenoci told the court during a hearing in June.
Lenoci then repeatedly struck Marc P. with extreme violence. Almost a year later, the victim remains in a persistent vegetative state.
Premeditation established
The court considered that the attack had been premeditated. According to the judge, Lenoci had thought through the assault, prepared it by arranging to meet his neighbour at his home and had not alerted police officers who had been at his home just hours earlier.
The court also took into account the number and severity of the blows, the parts of the body targeted and the fact that the attack had been filmed.
The prosecution had requested a 17-year prison sentence, arguing that Lenoci knew what he was about to do and stressing the extreme violence of the attack and the risk of reoffending. The prosecution also argued that the sentence needed to be particularly severe.
The defence, meanwhile, had called for an acquittal. Lenoci's lawyers argued that their client had been overwhelmed by the allegations concerning his stepson and had acted under an irresistible compulsion that he could no longer control.
The court rejected that argument. It also considered Lenoci's previous convictions and the need to protect public safety. According to the judge, the defendant continued throughout the proceedings to explain his actions by referring to “the slowness of justice.”
An expert also identified narcissistic traits in Lenoci and highlighted what he described as a lack of consideration for the victim. A risk of reoffending could not be ruled out.
Several relatives and supporters of Grégory Lenoci gathered outside the Namur courthouse on Thursday morning ahead of the verdict.
