Schaerbeek's municipal council has asked Michel De Herde to no longer attend town hall meetings, after his arrest over two counts of child rape. The former councillor has agreed to the sanction but is still proclaiming his innocence.
After news emerged of De Herde's arrest on Monday, Schaerbeek's mayor Cécile Jodogne confirmed that the disgraced councillor will be banned from attending future town hall meetings.
A press statement by Jodogne's office explained that the sanction"will allow the administration to work in a serene climate and to protect all the people concerned" given the seriousness of the charges, "which Michel De Herde recognises."
The original demand came from De Herde's political grouping, which is led by the mayor. Belgium's municipal elections are often fought by incumbent mayors running under their own '"mayoral list" instead of by party lines. De Herde had been elected on Jodogne's own list, with both coming from the same centrist party, DéFI.
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The statement also revealed that De Herde was "continuing to proclaim his innocence" with his legal counsel telling Le Soir "that these accusations are totally unfounded." De Herde criticised the fact that the case had leaked to the media, "which will see his reputation tarnished until the end of his days."
De Herde is being represented by a group of lawyers, which include Marc Uytendaele, a high-profile figure in Belgian law who had previously defended Bernard Wesphael, a federal MP who had been accused of murdering his wife.
