Belgian Doctor Gerlant van Berlaer Arrested on Voyeurism Charge
A prominent Belgian pediatrician and emergency physician has been taken into custody on suspicion of voyeurism, in a case that has quickly attracted national attention given the doctor’s high profile in the country’s medical community.
Professor Dr. Gerlant van Berlaer, 58, who heads the pediatric intensive care unit at UZ Brussel, the university hospital of the Vrije Universiteit Brussel, was detained over the weekend of 3 to 4 October. The news was confirmed to VRT NWS on 6 October following reporting by Het Nieuwsblad. As VRT NWS reported, the Brussels public prosecutor’s office is not communicating about the case for now, and according to the newspaper the investigation was opened after an ex-partner went to the police.
What Is Known
According to VRT NWS, UZ Brussel has confirmed that a house search took place at the doctor’s workplace, in connection with what the hospital described as “a matter in the private sphere.” The broadcaster reported that the investigation was started after an ex-partner went to the police, a detail it attributes to Het Nieuwsblad. Het Nieuwsblad and Gazet van Antwerpen have reported that the ex-partner discovered several hidden cameras in her bedroom in Grimbergen, a town in Flemish Brabant north of Brussels.
The Brussels prosecutor’s office is leading the investigation. Its decision not to comment is typical in the early phase of a judicial inquiry and reflects the privacy sensitivity of the matter.
A High-Profile Career
Van Berlaer has been a well-known figure in Belgian medicine since joining UZ Brussel in 2004, where he works as a pediatrician, emergency physician and intensivist. Beyond his clinical role, he specialized in disaster and emergency medicine, teaches at several universities, and is a member of B-FAST, Belgium’s federal rapid-response humanitarian intervention team.
As Wikipedia’s Dutch-language profile notes, he has taken part in numerous international missions, including Banda Aceh after the 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami, Gaza in 2009, Haiti after the 2010 earthquake, the Philippines after Typhoon Haiyan in 2013, Syria in 2015, and the Turkish-Syrian border region after the February 2023 earthquakes, where the B-FAST team set up a field hospital. In 2021 he won an SPX Award for research into using virtual-reality glasses for pain management in the emergency department.
He has also been a frequent media expert during crises and a member of the federal government’s advisory council on health crises. In 2026, the field hospital developed by the B-FAST team he is part of received certification from the World Health Organization, according to VRT NWS.
Years in Local Politics
Van Berlaer was politically active for about two decades as a member of the Flemish socialist party sp.a, since renamed Vooruit. Wikipedia’s Dutch-language profile states that he was active within sp.a and that he stood on the party’s lists in the Flemish elections of 2009 and 2014 and the federal elections of 2007, 2010 and 2019. He served continuously as a municipal councilor in Grimbergen from 2013 until 2026, where HLN described him as “the face of Vooruit in Grimbergen.” Throughout that period he remained active in opposition, a role HLN reported he filled while leaving his mark on local debate.
On 8 May 2026 he announced his departure from Grimbergen’s municipal politics, citing personal reasons. HLN reported at the time that he said it was “time for a new phase in my life” and that he was replaced in the council by Caroline Denil. The outlet also noted that he had more recently been active on the cabinet of federal Health Minister Frank Vandenbroucke, a fellow Vooruit politician.
Legal Context and Open Questions
Voyeurism is a criminal offence in Belgium, defined as secretly watching or filming persons who are fully or partially naked, or engaged in sexual acts, without their consent, typically with sexual intent. The offence falls under the public prosecutor’s office, and suspects may be arrested and remanded pending further judicial investigation.
The status of “aangehouden” — detained — indicates a more formal status than a brief police detention, following a decision by an investigating judge. Formal charges and any pre-trial detention conditions have not been officially confirmed.
Several questions remain unanswered. It is not clear whether the investigation is limited to the ex-partner or whether other alleged victims or locations are being examined. Nor is it yet known whether van Berlaer’s clinical duties, teaching role, B-FAST membership or cabinet position are suspended or under review. UZ Brussel has acknowledged the workplace search but framed the matter as private.
Given the doctor’s prominence in Belgian medicine and his prior political and ministerial-cabinet roles, the case is likely to attract sustained public and political scrutiny. Van Berlaer has not been publicly convicted of any offence, and under Belgian law he is presumed innocent until proven otherwise.