A convicted Belgian paedophile who had been on the run for about a year has been captured in the Spanish city of Malaga.
Belgian authorities issued a European Arrest Warrant after he fled Belgium after he broke out of the psychiatric clinic where had been made to receive treatment as a condition for his early release.
The man, identified as Geoffrey J., was captured on Sunday by Spanish police who had been on the lookout for him for days, after receiving a tip from Belgian police.
The 42-year-old fugitive had been convicted of the rape of two 12-year-old girls in 2009, but was released on parole as he approached the end of his sentence under the condition that he received treatment at a mental clinic.
The Antwerp court who granted the convicted paedophile's early release also ordered him to remain under judiciary surveillance for a period of 20 years, since the man had already been jailed for paedophilia.
In 2009, J. was sentenced to five years imprisonment for sexually abusing minors. He served out the entirety of his sentence but relapsed after, De Standaard reports.
Police in Malaga spent the weekend looking for the man, who did not have a fixed address in the city and who slept in his car in order to elude capture, police said.
Following his escape, the Antwerp court rescinded the man's parole and upon his return to Belgium, he is set to finish out the remainder of his sentence: eight days.
The previous ruling to put him under judiciary surveillance could open the door for a court to order his return to jail for 20 years.
Gabriela Galindo
The Brussels Times
