--- category: Belgium Scandals summary: Marcel Vervloesem operated as a Belgian private investigator and activist affiliated with the Morkhoven Workgroup, an NGO dedicated to exposing child exploitation networks across Europe during the 1990s. tags: - Person - Belgium --- Marcel Vervloesem operated as a Belgian private investigator and activist affiliated with the [Morkhoven Workgroup](/organizations/morkhoven-workgroup/), an NGO dedicated to exposing child exploitation networks across Europe during the 1990s. His investigations targeted the disappearance of [Manuel Schadwald](/people/manuel-schadwald/), a 12-year-old German boy who vanished in [Berlin](/places/berlin/) in 1993, linking cases to broader international child trafficking operations involving figures such as [Lothar Glandorf](/people/lothar-glandorf/), [Robbie Van Der Plancken](/people/robbie-van-der-plancken/), and [Gerrit-Jan Ulrich](/people/gerrit-jan-ulrich/). Vervloesem's work uncovered the [Apollo Bulletin Board Service](/organizations/apollo-bulletin-board-service/), one of the largest online distributors of sadomasochistic child pornography, hosted in [Zandvoort](/places/zandvoort/), and connected to distribution networks in [Amsterdam](/places/amsterdam/), [Rotterdam](/places/rotterdam/), and beyond.[^1] ### Investigation into Manuel Schadwald's Disappearance In the mid-1990s, Marcel Vervloesem initiated an inquiry into the disappearance of [Manuel Schadwald](/people/manuel-schadwald/) on behalf of the [Morkhoven Workgroup](/organizations/morkhoven-workgroup/), reviewing a 1992 police report from a raid on an underage sex party in the Dutch town of Wallre. The report identified [Lothar Glandorf](/people/lothar-glandorf/) at the event alongside a teenager named [Robbie Van Der Plancken](/people/robbie-van-der-plancken/), establishing early connections to organized child exploitation rings operating through brothels like Euro Boys and Young Boys in [Rotterdam](/places/rotterdam/). Vervloesem's team cross-referenced this information with witness testimonies from the Pinocchio Bar in [Berlin](/places/berlin/), where Schadwald was last seen with associates linked to British trafficker [Warwick Spinks](/people/warwick-spinks/) and the [Apollo Bulletin Board Service](/organizations/apollo-bulletin-board-service/). This phase of the investigation revealed Schadwald's trafficking route from [Berlin](/places/berlin/) to [Amsterdam](/places/amsterdam/), involving sales to networks tied to [Marc Dutroux](/people/marc-dutroux/) and the broader [International Child Trafficking Network Overview](/events/international-child-trafficking-network-overview/). By June 1998, Vervloesem located [Robbie Van Der Plancken](/people/robbie-van-der-plancken/) in [Amsterdam](/places/amsterdam/) and conducted a filmed interview with Belgian public broadcaster RTBF, confronting him directly about [Manuel Schadwald](/people/manuel-schadwald/)'s fate. During the confrontation, associates observed an onlooker who led them to [Zandvoort](/places/zandvoort/), identifying [Gerrit-Jan Ulrich](/people/gerrit-jan-ulrich/) as the owner of Cube Hardware and administrator of the [Apollo Bulletin Board Service](/organizations/apollo-bulletin-board-service/). Ulrich provided Vervloesem with encoded disks containing thousands of images and videos depicting violent child abuse, including potential matches to victims like [Katrien de Cuyper](/people/katrien-de-cuyper/) from the [Marc Dutroux](/people/marc-dutroux/). The [Morkhoven Workgroup](/organizations/morkhoven-workgroup/) subsequently handed over child pornography materials to Dutch police on July 18, 1998, as reported in De Morgen, prompting raids on related operations such as [Gero-Video](/organizations/gero-video/) in Dusseldorf. Vervloesem collaborated closely with [Gina Pardaens-Bernaer](/people/gina-pardaens-bernaer/), another [Morkhoven Workgroup](/organizations/morkhoven-workgroup/) member, in analyzing the [Apollo Disks](/concepts/apollo-disks/) for identifications, including possible links to murders at locations like the castle of Baron Philippe de Caters and the Dutch porn studio X-Kiss. Their efforts exposed intersections with the [Elm Guest House](/organizations/elm-guest-house/) scandal and [Operation Yewtree](/programs/operation-yewtree/)-related inquiries, implicating high-profile figures in child abuse cover-ups. The interview segments with [Robbie Van Der Plancken](/people/robbie-van-der-plancken/) appeared in the French documentary ‘Zandvoort, the file of shame - Karl Zero Absolute,’ amplifying public awareness of the [Zandvoort](/places/zandvoort/) discoveries and their ties to the [Spartacus Club](/organizations/spartacus-club/) and [Toff's Travel](/organizations/toffs-travel/). ### Impact on Broader Child Exploitation Exposures Marcel Vervloesem's revelations from the [Apollo Bulletin Board Service](/organizations/apollo-bulletin-board-service/) connected to the [Rolodex Investigation](/events/rolodex-investigation/) and [Odyssey Network](/organizations/odyssey-network/), highlighting encrypted distribution methods used by perpetrators in the [The Finders](/organizations/the-finders/) cult and [Spartacus International](/organizations/spartacus-international/). His work prompted international cooperation, including examinations of [John David Norman](/people/john-david-norman/)'s records and [Peter Righton](/people/peter-righton/)'s pedophile information exchange, revealing overlaps with Belgian cases like the [Grafton Close Children's Home](/organizations/grafton-close-childrens-home/) abuses. Vervloesem faced retaliation, mirroring the murder of [Gina Pardaens-Bernaer](/people/gina-pardaens-bernaer/) in November 1998, amid efforts to suppress evidence from the [Zandvoort](/places/zandvoort/) files. The [Morkhoven Workgroup](/organizations/morkhoven-workgroup/) retained key witnesses in the [Manuel Schadwald](/people/manuel-schadwald/) case, as noted in De Morgen on September 21, 1998, sustaining pressure on authorities investigating [Joris Demmink](/people/joris-demmink/) and [Leon Brittan](/people/leon-brittan/). The exposure of the [Apollo Bulletin Board Service](/organizations/apollo-bulletin-board-service/) through Vervloesem's persistence led to arrests, including [Robbie Van Der Plancken](/people/robbie-van-der-plancken/) in Italy for shooting [Gerrit-Jan Ulrich](/people/gerrit-jan-ulrich/), and influenced probes into [TAG Films](/organizations/tag-films/) and German operations post-1993 raids. Connections extended to [Jimmy Savile](/people/jimmy-savile/)'s network via [Walton Hop Disco](/places/walton-hop-disco/) and [Stoke Lodge](/places/stoke-lodge/), with Vervloesem's findings corroborating testimonies from the [Marc Dutroux](/people/marc-dutroux/) involving [Jean-Michel Nihoul](/people/jean-michel-nihoul/) and [Jean-Michel Nihoul](/people/jean-michel-nihoul/).[^1] [^1]: Dovey, S. (2023). *Eye of the Chickenhawk*. United States: Thehotstar.