What do the 18-month sentences for two home burglars near Brussels tell us?
The Brussels correctional court has sentenced two men to 18 months in prison, partly suspended, after finding both responsible for two residential burglaries committed on 24 April in Sint-Genesius-Rode and Londerzeel.
Burglary creates costs beyond the stolen goods: residents may face broken-window repairs, new locks, emergency security work and insurance excesses. Theft cover is not necessarily included in every Belgian home policy, making the contract terms decisive for whether cash, jewellery and other possessions are reimbursed.
The has sentenced two men to 18 months in prison, with part of each sentence suspended, after finding them guilty of two home burglaries committed on 24 April in and . The thieves took €1,000 and two pairs of sunglasses from the first property, while jewellery linked to the second burglary was recovered when police stopped their vehicle in the following day, according to reporting by and based on the court proceedings.
The case joined evidence from two municipalities and an arrest more than 40 kilometres away. Prosecutors said the men entered the house by forcing a rear window. A neighbour’s surveillance camera recorded the intrusion and the vehicle used to leave the scene. Police intercepted that vehicle in on 25 April with five people inside, and investigators identified the two defendants from the footage. One of them was carrying jewellery traced to a burglary in on the same day.
The defendants took different positions before the court. The 43-year-old admitted both burglaries, while his lawyer sought a suspended sentence and said it was his first encounter with the justice system. The 67-year-old accepted involvement in the offence but denied participating in the burglary, arguing that the jewellery had been found on the other man. His lawyer requested an acquittal on that count and a suspended sentence for the admitted offence. The court rejected that distinction, concluding that the available evidence sufficiently established both men’s involvement in both break-ins. Neither the published reports nor an accessible judgment specified how many months of each sentence were suspended, whether compensation was ordered or whether either defendant will appeal.
For the households involved, the immediate loss is more concrete than the headline sentence: cash and personal possessions disappeared, a window was forced and residents were left to document the damage and secure their homes. ’s says damage to doors or windows after a burglary may be covered under a home policy, but theft protection itself is commonly an optional extension whose exact conditions vary by contract. That distinction matters to tenants, homeowners and small businesses because the bill can include repairs, replacement locks, emergency work and uninsured belongings as well as the stolen property.
Insurance federation previously estimated that theft cover cost about €100 a year on average and that insurers paid roughly €3,800 per burglary or attempted burglary involving homes and small commercial premises in its 2022 data. Those figures are a market benchmark rather than an estimate of the damage in this case, whose total financial cost has not been disclosed. Assuralia also advises victims to report a burglary to police and include the police record with their insurance claim. The commercial relevance is therefore real but secondary: this remains primarily a justice story about evidence, responsibility and sentencing, not a broad signal about insurers’ profitability or premiums.
The national trend provides useful scale. Federal Police data show 35,438 registered residential burglaries in in 2025, down from 38,349 in 2024, a decline of about 7.6%. The police caution that their burglary category includes both completed offences and attempts, and that recorded crime is not identical to the true incidence of crime. Even so, the latest total was also well below the 48,901 cases registered in 2019. A longer decline does not make an individual break-in trivial, and local patterns can diverge sharply from the national picture.
The route through , and also illustrates why burglary investigations do not fit neatly within municipal or regional borders. The first two municipalities are in but fall within different local policing environments, while the vehicle was stopped in Antwerp province. In this case, a private camera image, recognition of the suspects and property recovered during a vehicle interception formed a chain that prosecutors presented across the two offences. The reports do not say what led police to stop the vehicle or whether automatic number-plate recognition played any part, so that should not be inferred.
The form of the punishment requires some care. An 18-month sentence does not necessarily mean 18 months continuously spent in a prison cell, particularly because part was suspended. explains that sentences of between six months and three years fall under rules allowing applications for measures such as electronic monitoring, limited detention or conditional release. Such arrangements are not automatic: the sentence-execution judge assesses eligibility, risks to victims and efforts to pay compensation. Because the published court report does not disclose the unsuspended portion, any attempt to calculate the defendants’ likely time in custody would be speculative.
The timing also places the judgment just before ’s planned transition to a on 1 September 2026. said in March that the reform, originally due in April, was postponed to give courts and public authorities more preparation time; until its entry into force, the existing code continues to govern pending cases. Nothing in the available reporting suggests that the reform altered this judgment, and the court’s written reasoning would be needed before drawing any conclusion about the precise legal provisions applied.
The next formal step is whether either defendant challenges the judgment. An appeal could reopen questions about the evidence connecting the older defendant to the burglary or about the sentence imposed. If no appeal is lodged and the ruling becomes final, the authorities will determine how the unsuspended portions are executed. For the victims, the outstanding questions are different: whether all property was recovered, whether they sought compensation and how much of their loss their insurance covers. None of those details has yet been made public.
Impact
Regional — The offences crossed several local boundaries: Sint-Genesius-Rode and Londerzeel are in Flemish Brabant, the suspects were intercepted in Antwerp, and the prosecution was handled by the Brussels judicial authorities. The case shows the practical importance of evidence-sharing across police zones.
Local — The case links Sint-Genesius-Rode and Londerzeel in Flemish Brabant with Antwerp, where the suspects were stopped, and Brussels, where they were prosecuted. It illustrates how evidence from different localities—surveillance footage from one burglary and recovered jewellery connected to another—can be assembled into one criminal case. For residents of the affected municipalities, the immediate practical concerns are stolen-property documentation, forced-entry repairs, insurance claims and any compensation process, although the reports do not state whether compensation was awarded.
What it means for you
Belgian residents should check whether their home policy expressly covers theft, because it is not automatically included in every contract. Review the excess, limits for cash and jewellery, security conditions and evidence required for reimbursement. Keep purchase records or photographs for valuable possessions and retain invoices for emergency window, lock or security repairs after a break-in. Victims in this case should consult the judgment or their lawyer for the compensation decision and monitor whether an appeal is filed; published reports do not provide those details or identify how much of the 18-month term must actually be served.
Opposing perspectives
- The 67-year-old defendant's defence
His lawyer argued that there was no evidence connecting him to the Londerzeel burglary because the recovered jewellery was found on the other defendant. The defence accepted his involvement in Sint-Genesius-Rode but requested a suspended sentence for that offence.
- Prosecution and trial court
Prosecutors treated the footage, shared vehicle and recovered jewellery as a connected body of evidence covering both offences. The court agreed that both men's participation in both burglaries had been proved sufficiently and rejected the request to separate their responsibility.
- The 43-year-old defendant's defence
The younger defendant admitted both burglaries. His lawyer sought leniency and a suspended sentence, stressing his remorse and saying this was his first contact with the criminal justice system.
Who, where and what
Key people, places and terms in this story
City where police intercepted the suspects’ vehicle and recovered jewellery.
Judicial centre where the burglary prosecution was handled.
Country whose burglary statistics, criminal-law framework and insurance rules provide context.
Belgian province containing Sint-Genesius-Rode and Londerzeel.
Flemish Brabant municipality where one residential burglary occurred on 24 April.
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Flemish Brabant municipality where one residential burglary occurred on 24 April.
City where police intercepted the suspects’ vehicle and recovered jewellery.
Belgian province containing Sint-Genesius-Rode and Londerzeel.
Judicial centre where the burglary prosecution was handled.
Country whose burglary statistics, criminal-law framework and insurance rules provide context.
Flemish Brabant municipality where the second linked residential burglary occurred.
Two linked break-ins in Sint-Genesius-Rode and Londerzeel for which the defendants were convicted.
Belgian criminal-law reform whose entry into force was postponed, according to FPS Justice.
Court that convicted both defendants and imposed partly suspended 18-month prison sentences.
Institution reporting 35,438 residential burglaries in Belgium in 2025.
Federal authority providing information on prison sentences and the postponed new Criminal Code.
Federal authority explaining that theft coverage is an optional home-insurance risk.
Belgian insurance-sector federation included among the article’s contextual sources.
Brussels news outlet reporting the court’s judgment.
Belgian newspaper reporting the sentences and burglary details.
Sources & evidence
- View sourceBRUZZPrimaryprimary· bruzz.be· 17 August 2026Retrieved 26 August 2026· 46 days ago· Dated
- View sourceHet Nieuwsbladcorroborating· nieuwsblad.be· 17 August 2026Retrieved 26 August 2026· 46 days ago· Dated
- View sourceBelgian Federal Police crime statisticsofficial· police.be· 24 April 2026Retrieved 26 August 2026· 161 days ago· Dated
- View sourceFPS Justice — prison sentences from six months to three yearsofficial· justitie.belgium.beRetrieved 26 August 2026
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This briefing was prepared with AI assistance and reviewed by a Belgium Impulse editor before publication. methodology.