A WANTED paedophile has been found living among the expat community on the Costa del Sol.
The unnamed Belgian was living out of his car in Velez-Malaga in a bid to stay under the radar of authorities.
Described as ‘dangerous’, the sex offender had escaped from a psychiatric hospital in July last year where he was receiving treatment for his ‘sexual disorder.’
He was sent to the specialist institution after sexually assaulting two girls, aged 11 and 12, in 2007 and 2009 respectively.
The fugitive had also committed similar offences against other women in 2000 and 2003, in the town of Ravels.
He was moved from prison to the Ankerstraat General Psychiatric Hospital in 2019, but managed to escape on July 30 of that year and has been on the run ever since.
Authorities managed to track him down to Velez-Malaga on Saturday but found it difficult to pin him down given his transient lifestyle.
A surveillance unit staked out his regular pit stops, including a petrol station, restaurant and the home of his partner.
The fugitive, described as dangerous and of ‘great importance’ to the Belgian Prosecutor’s office, was captured within 24 hours.
Police searched his private vehicle, which he was living out of, finding a sleeping bag, clothes and food.
The case bears a resemblance to that of Christian Brueckner, the German suspect believed to be behind the disappearance of Madeleine McCann.
The convicted paedophile spent several years living out of his campervan and Winnebago to keep a low profile.
The Olive Press also revealed how he spent time hiding in the hippy hotspot of Orgiva in Granada.
While being wanted in Germany as late as 2017, Brueckner, while living out of his van in the Algarve, was arrested for exposing himself to a group of young girls at a playground in Messines.
He was stopped by an off-duty policewoman, who called for backup before discovering an Interpol warrant out for his arrest.
