A French court has sentenced retired surgeon Joel Le Scouarnec, 74, to 20 years in prison for raping and sexually assaulting hundreds of patients — many of them children, some unconscious during the abuse.
His crimes, which spanned over 25 years, are considered one of the most disturbing cases of pedocriminality in French history.
Le Scouarnec admitted to the court that he committed “despicable acts” while working in hospitals across western France.
“I’m aware that the harm I’ve caused is beyond repair,” he said at the opening of his trial in February.
“I owe it to all these people and their loved ones to admit my actions and their consequences, which they’ve endured and will keep having to endure all their lives.”
He was convicted of sexually abusing 299 victims, in a trial that sparked public outrage and raised serious questions about how the healthcare system allowed the abuse to continue for so long.
The proceedings took place in Vannes, Brittany, during a broader national reckoning on sexual violence, including recent cases like that of Dominique Pelicot — convicted of drugging and enabling the rape of his wife.
Le Scouarnec is already serving a 15-year sentence handed down in 2020 for abusing four children, including two of his nieces, a child neighbor, and a 4-year-old patient.
Despite a 2005 conviction for possessing child sexual abuse images, he continued working in public hospitals — a fact that has enraged victims’ families and rights advocates.
In 2017, police re-arrested him after a six-year-old neighbor accused him of rape.
Investigators later discovered electronic diaries detailing more than two decades of sexual assaults, along with child pornography, wigs, and sex dolls.
Outside the courthouse, dozens of victims and campaigners gathered with a banner made of hundreds of white paper silhouettes — each representing a victim. Some listed names and ages, others simply said “Anonymous.”
The local prosecutor has opened a separate investigation into whether individuals or institutions should be held criminally responsible for failing to stop the abuse.
The case has prompted calls for systemic reform and deeper accountability within France’s healthcare and judicial systems.
(CNN)
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