French surgeon says deserves no 'leniency' after decades of abusing patients
Joel Le Scouarnec, 74, has admitted to sexually assaulting or raping 299 patients -- 256 of them under 15 -- in hospitals in western France between 1989 and 2014, many while they were under anaesthesia or waking up after operations.
The prosecution on Friday requested the maximum 20-year sentence for the former surgeon and also made the rare demand that he should be held in a centre for treatment and supervision even after any release.
"I am not asking the court for leniency," Le Scouarnec said in his closing statement. "Simply grant me the right to become a better person," he added.
The verdict from the court in Vannes in the western Brittany region is expected on Wednesday.
"You were the devil and he sometimes is dressed in a white coat," prosecutor Stephane Kellenberger told Le Scouarnec on Friday, adding that an additional trial could be required to cover the cases of further victims whose abuse is not part of the current case.
- 'Not asking to escape' -
Le Scouranec is charged in this trial with 111 rapes and 189 sexual assaults and is set to emerge this week as one of the most prolific convicted sex predators in France's history.
His defence team said he was not contesting the accusations or the prosecutor's sentencing request, but insisted his expressions of regret towards the victims were genuine, despite many not believing him.
"Joel Le Scouarnec is not asking to escape the sentence requested by the public prosecutor," said one of the lawyers, Maxime Tessier.
The lawyer asked the court to take into account the "exceptional" nature of Le Scouarnec's confession when he admitted all the charges against him in March.
"Joel Le Scouarnec has never blamed anyone else, he has always said, 'I am the only guilty party, I am the only one responsible,'" Tessier said.
"The court must be convinced of Joel Le Scouarnec's sincerity."
He has repeated apologies almost mechanically over the weeks of the trial, sometimes word for word, in a monotone voice.
And while the surgeon admitted responsibility, he also repeatedly said he did not remember his acts.
- 'Learn lessons' -
The months of hearings have been marked by horror over the acts of the ex-surgeon -- who confessed to the abuse -- but also frustration over the failure of medical and judicial authorities to act sooner.
The former surgeon practised for decades until his retirement in 2017, despite a 2005 conviction for owning sexually abusive images of children.
Le Scouarnec is already in prison after being sentenced in December 2020 to 15 years for raping and sexually assaulting four children, including two of his nieces.
Some parties in the trial voiced frustration that it had not had the impact in France they had hoped for in the media and politics.
The case has not won the level of attention given to that of Dominique Pelicot, who was jailed last year for recruiting dozens of strangers to rape his now ex-wife Gisele.
Earlier this month, around 20 victims of Le Scouarnec and their relatives staged a protest in front of the court over the "silence of the political world".
They demanded "an interministerial commission" to "learn lessons" from the Le Scouarnec case and prevent similar events from happening again.
"We are appalled to see that this 'trial of the century' is not a watershed event in the eyes of the government and, more broadly, the general public," the group said.
"They're trying to make him out to be a monster, but this monster is the society that created him and allowed him to persist," said Manon Lemoine, now 36, one of the victims who Le Scouarnec admits to raping when she was 11.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
The Age
an hour ago
- The Age
The TWU's millions: How much will sacked Qantas workers get?
The Transport Workers' Union will be able to spend the $50 million it was awarded in the Qantas penalties case however it sees fit, say lawyers and labour specialists. The TWU's National Council, made up of elected officials and rank-and-file members, is expected to meet 'in due course' to discuss how best to deploy the funds towards advancing campaigns across road and aviation sectors. The $90 million in penalties announced on Monday, along with the $120 million in workers compensation agreed to last year, combined are worth more than five times the union's total revenue of $39.5 million across all its branches. The penalty judgment handed down this week includes $50 million awarded directly to the union and a further $40 million that is intended as pay for the workers, but that will be decided through a later legal process. The TWU told the court the balance of any penalty paid to it 'would be used to advance the workplace rights, pay, conditions, wellbeing and welfare of transport workers consistently with' union rules and the Fair Work Act. Justice Michael Lee characterised the promise as having 'dubious utility' because it requires the TWU only to obey an aspect of the law. Former Qantas baggage handler Damien Pollard said the time it was taking to receive compensation was difficult. 'Of course it's frustrating to all of us how long this process has taken,' Pollard said. 'The last five years has felt exceptionally long. There have been relationship breakdowns, people have had to sell their houses.' The reality was that the blame lay on Qantas, he said. 'If Qantas had accepted its wrongdoing the first time it would not have been such a long road. But it's a huge relief to be getting to the end of it.'
Sydney Morning Herald
an hour ago
- Sydney Morning Herald
The TWU's millions: How much will sacked Qantas workers get?
The Transport Workers' Union will be able to spend the $50 million it was awarded in the Qantas penalties case however it sees fit, say lawyers and labour specialists. The TWU's National Council, made up of elected officials and rank-and-file members, is expected to meet 'in due course' to discuss how best to deploy the funds towards advancing campaigns across road and aviation sectors. The $90 million in penalties announced on Monday, along with the $120 million in workers compensation agreed to last year, combined are worth more than five times the union's total revenue of $39.5 million across all its branches. The penalty judgment handed down this week includes $50 million awarded directly to the union and a further $40 million that is intended as pay for the workers, but that will be decided through a later legal process. The TWU told the court the balance of any penalty paid to it 'would be used to advance the workplace rights, pay, conditions, wellbeing and welfare of transport workers consistently with' union rules and the Fair Work Act. Justice Michael Lee characterised the promise as having 'dubious utility' because it requires the TWU only to obey an aspect of the law. Former Qantas baggage handler Damien Pollard said the time it was taking to receive compensation was difficult. 'Of course it's frustrating to all of us how long this process has taken,' Pollard said. 'The last five years has felt exceptionally long. There have been relationship breakdowns, people have had to sell their houses.' The reality was that the blame lay on Qantas, he said. 'If Qantas had accepted its wrongdoing the first time it would not have been such a long road. But it's a huge relief to be getting to the end of it.'
Sydney Morning Herald
2 hours ago
- Sydney Morning Herald
The TWU's millions: How much will the sacked Qantas workers get?
The Transport Workers' Union will be able to spend the $50 million it was awarded in the Qantas penalties case however it sees fit, say lawyers and labour specialists. The TWU's National Council, made up of elected officials and rank-and-file members, is expected to meet 'in due course' to discuss how best to deploy the funds towards advancing campaigns across road and aviation sectors. The $90 million in penalties announced on Monday, along with the $120 million in workers compensation agreed to last year, combined are worth more than five times the union's total revenue of $39.5 million across all its branches. The penalty judgment handed down this week includes $50 million awarded directly to the union and a further $40 million that is intended as pay for the workers, but that will be decided through a later legal process. The TWU told the court the balance of any penalty paid to it 'would be used to advance the workplace rights, pay, conditions, wellbeing and welfare of transport workers consistently with' union rules and the Fair Work Act. Justice Michael Lee characterised the promise as having 'dubious utility' because it requires the TWU only to obey an aspect of the law. Former Qantas baggage handler Damien Pollard said the time it's taking to receive compensation is difficult. 'Of course it's frustrating to all of us how long this process has taken,' Pollard said. 'The last five years has felt exceptionally long. There have been relationship breakdowns, people have had to sell their houses.' The reality is that the blame lies on Qantas, he said. 'If Qantas had accepted its wrongdoing the first time it would not have been such a long road. But it's a huge relief to be getting to the end of it.'
