Latest news with #JoelLeScouarnec
France 24
a day ago
- Politics
- France 24
Gaza, 'Taco Trump', Musk ‘overboarded', Macron's ‘le slap'
It's been a week that's seen a French doctor, Joel Le Scouarnec, thought to be the country's most prolific paedophile, sentenced to a further 20 years in jail. He's already in prison for other crimes. The 74 year old former surgeon admitted abusing almost 300 people. Many were children under sedation in hospital who didn't know they'd been assaulted until they were told by police. Advocacy groups say that it's exposed serious failings of French health authorities, accusing them of not caring to act when first made aware of his conviction for downloading images of child rape, two decades previously. It's been the week that Elon Musk said goodbye to the Trump Administration and left his role at the White House. The world's richest man said his time has come to an end at the department of government efficiency just days after his public critique of Trump's so called Big Beautiful tax bill, calling it too expensive and undermining the point of Doge. Washington insiders say it was his time, quoting sources suggesting he'd been seen as a bit of nuisance in the Trump inner circle. White House officials tell reporters he was quote 'off boarded' on Wednesday night. And it was a week that created an inadvertent legacy moment for Emmanuel Macron, on manoeuvres in south east Asia. A moment likely to be included in every future look back at the President's career. A push in the face from the First Lady. Pay no attention to the couple behind the plane's curtain. 'Play fighting' said the President.
Time of India
a day ago
- Time of India
In France, survivors of pediatric sexual abuse seek change
Joel Le Scouarnec is not the name on everyone's lips in the western French seaside town of Vannes, where this week the former surgeon was sentenced to 20 years in prison for raping and sexually abusing nearly 300 of his patients most of them children over more than three decades. Tired of too many ads? go ad free now His face was not on the front page of the local newspaper the morning after his conviction, and, as the weather oscillated between gray rainy skies and bright May sunshine, people mulling around the boat festival at Vannes harbor a 10-minute walk from the courtroom, preferred not to talk about one of France's most prolific abusers. "It's the shame of the Brittany region," said 83-year-old pensioner Joelle Leboru. "He started everything here." "How could he get away with it for so long?" Anatomy of a web of abuse That's the question that's been keeping people in Vannes up at night. Under the authorities' noses, dressed in a white medical coat of respectability and in the heart of middle-class society, Le Scouarnec sexually abused hundreds of children. The crimes in the latest case against him spanned from 1989 to 2014 and were committed in a dozen hospitals in western France. Le Scouarnec often violated victims while they were under anesthesia or waking up from surgery. He wrote graphic descriptions of hundreds of these instances of rape or sexual assault against children and animals in his journals, which police discovered when they raided his apartment in 2017 after he was accused of sexual abuse against a child who lived next door. "I'm a major pervert. I'm at once an exhibitionist, voyeur, sadist, masochist. I'm scatological, a fetishist, a pedophile. And I'm very happy about it," he wrote in one 2004 entry quoted in Le Monde . Tired of too many ads? go ad free now Police also found a collection of dolls, some the size of a baby, some the size of toddlers, around the apartment according to the French newspaper. Missed opportunities? The 2017 knock on Le Scouarnec's door came over a decade after his first brush with the law. The surgeon was charged and convicted in 2005 of possessing child sexual abuse material. He received a four-month suspended sentence, but was able to continue practicing medicine including working with children until he retired years later. During the recent trial, hospital administrators who kept him on staff and later hired him elsewhere after his 2005 conviction denied direct responsibility. Since the court had not issued a professional ban or a prohibition on working with minors, they argued they were not obligated to impose additional restrictions. Le Scouarnec worked primarily in rural, relatively resource-strapped hospitals, where the loss of a surgeon could have spelled closure for a whole department. Questions were also raised during the trial about whether anyone else in particular his ex-wife knew about the abuse and failed to act. She denied any knowledge. Further legal proceedings are expected, as survivors push for accountability beyond Le Scouarnec himself. 'Major institutional failures' Unlike in most criminal cases, in which police identify suspects based on victims' reports, this case unfolded in reverse. Investigators uncovered reams of evidence and then sought out victims, many of whom had no memory of the abuse and learned only from a call or visit from the police. Among them was 35-year-old Louis-Marie, who stood outside the Vannes courthouse on sentencing day with other survivors. Together, they unfurled a banner adorned with hundreds of sheets of paper, each printed with a silhouette representing one of Le Scouarnec's victims. Some of the figures were accompanied by names and ages some of them under the age of 5. Many were labeled "anonymous." "We've realized there were major institutional failures, which to this day haven't been recognized," Louis-Marie told DW as he rallied with other survivors. Le Scouarnec admitted guilt on all counts and asked for "no leniency" in his sentencing. He apologized to most of his victims, asking for forgiveness, in a way some of them described as merely mechanical. Le Scouarnec does not plan to appeal. In a statement after Wednesday's verdict, the French National Medical Council vowed to "conduct all reforms needed to ensure that such a tragedy never arises again." France's health minister also promised to work with the Justice Ministry to better protect children and other patients from being exposed to predators. Maximum jail time The guilty verdict was not a surprise. Regine, the mother of one abuse survivor, told DW before the reading that she was simply "exhausted." "As parents, we're considered secondary victims. But it's hard, knowing we left our children in the hands of this monster," she said. "That's something I'll regret forever. It won't disappear. For us, it's for life." But not for Le Scouarnec. Under French law, the maximum sentence for aggravated rape — whether it involves one victim or hundreds — is 20 years. And that's exactly what judges handed down to the 74-year-old former doctor in Vannes on Wednesday, with presiding judge Aude Buresi taking time to point out she was bound by her country's legal limits. Now, advocacy groups are calling for legislative reform, pushing for tougher sentences for serial rapists. Calls for reform The court also imposed additional restrictions on Le Scouarnec, including measures to keep him away from children and animals and a ban on medical practice, should he ever be released. And that's a real possibility. Le Scouarnec has already spent several years in jail on pre-trial detention for separate convictions — including raping four children, two of whom were his nieces. U nlike in the United States, French jail sentences are not cumulative. That means some of his 20-year term is already considered served and he could be eligible for early release in the 2030s, subject to judicial approval. Judges on Wednesday decided against taking the exceptional step of confining Le Scouarnec to a secure psychiatric facility after his release, citing his age and stated willingness "to make amends." And that has left some survivors and family members shocked and bitterly disappointed. Xavier Vinet, whose son was abused by Le Scouarnec as a child, shook with anger as he spoke to DW outside the court. "We should have lifelong jail time, given that we don't have the death penalty here. We should bring it back — that's what's needed for men like him," he said. Lost before justice was served Vinet's son, Mathis, will never see justice served. He died in 2021 of an overdose which his family says was suicide. "He was a joyful kid before all of this," Vinet said. "He got on so well with his grandfather and with me." In 2018, like so many others, Mathis and his family heard from police that Le Scouarnec had written about abusing him during a hospital stay when he was 10. "Then everything changed. Then he destroyed himself. That's what I can say about him," Vinet added. Le Scouarnec admitted in court that he bore "responsibility" for the deaths of Mathis and another of his young victims who died in 2020. Survivors ask: Why don't people want to know? There's no doubt that the case shocked France. So did the countless disturbing details that emerged during the trial — including a moment when the 74-year-old unexpectedly admitted to abusing his own granddaughter, a crime previously unknown to both prosecutors and his son, according to French media's courtroom reporting. But survivors said there's been much less of a reckoning than they had hoped for. It's hard not to draw comparisons with the case of Gisele Pelicot, a French woman who waived her right to anonymity in the trial against her husband and about 50 other men who raped her over a 10-year period. Like Le Scouarnec's survivors, Pelicot only learned the details of these crimes through police, as her husband had been routinely drugging her and recruiting men online to rape her while she was sedated. Yet, unlike the Pelicot trial, which sparked international media attention, the Le Scouarnec case was comparatively low-profile. Back at the Vannes marina, local student Emma Le Floch explained why she thinks the ex-surgeon's crimes garnered less attention. "Everything to do with children is even more taboo," the 21-year-old said. "It's shocking to think that the people impacted live right nearby — that I could easily have had that doctor or been taken in for an operation with him or something like that," she added. "We don't talk enough about sexual violence against children," she said. "I think it's that we don't want to talk about it."
DW
2 days ago
- DW
In France, survivors of pediatric sexual abuse seek change – DW – 05/29/2025
A doctor was sentenced to 20 years in prison for assaulting nearly 300 patients. DW spoke with survivors and family members who want action to address "institutional failures" — and better protection for children. Warning: This article contains references to suicide, sexual assault and other details that readers may find disturbing Joel Le Scouarnec is not the name on everyone's lips in the western French seaside town of Vannes, where this week the former surgeon was sentenced to 20 years in prison for raping and sexually abusing nearly 300 of his patients — most of them children — over more than three decades. His face was not on the front page of the local newspaper the morning after his conviction, and, as the weather oscillated between grey rainy skies and bright May sunshine, people mulling around the boat festival at Vannes harbor — a 10-minute walk from the courtroom — preferred not to talk about one of France's most prolific abusers. "It's the shame of the Brittany region," 83-year-old pensioner Joelle Leboru said. "He started everything here." "How could he get away with it for so long?" French doctor found guilty of abusing hundreds of children To view this video please enable JavaScript, and consider upgrading to a web browser that supports HTML5 video Anatomy of a web of abuse That's the question that's been keeping people in Vannes up at night: Under the authorities' noses, dressed in a white medical coat of respectability, and in the heart of middle-class society, Le Scouarnec sexually abused hundreds of children. The crimes in the latest case against him spanned from 1989 to 2014 and were committed in a dozen hospitals in western France. Le Scouarnec often violated victims while they were under anesthesia or waking up from surgery. He wrote graphic descriptions of hundreds of these instances of rape or sexual assault against children — and animals — in his journals, which police discovered when they raided his apartment in 2017 after he was accused of sexual abuse against a child who lived next door. "I'm a major pervert. I'm at once an exhibitionist, voyeur, sadist, masochist. I'm scatological, a fetishist, a pedophile. And I'm very happy about it," he wrote in one 2004 entry quoted in Le Monde. Police also found a collection of dolls, some the size of a baby, some the size of toddlers, around the apartment — according to the French newspaper. Le Scouarnec detailed his crimes in journals used by police to track down his victims Image: Benoit Peyrucq/AFP Missed opportunities? The 2017 knock on Le Scouarnec's door came over a decade after his first brush with the law. The surgeon was charged and convicted in 2005 of possessing child sexual abuse material. He received a four-month suspended sentence, but was able to continue practicing medicine — including working with children — until he retired years later. During the recent trial, hospital administrators who kept him on staff and later hired him elsewhere after his 2005 conviction denied direct responsibility. Since the court had not issued a professional ban or a prohibition on working with minors, they argued they were not obligated to impose additional restrictions. Le Scouarnec worked primarily in rural, relatively resource-strapped hospitals, where the loss of a surgeon could have spelled closure for a whole department. Questions were also raised during the trial about whether anyone else — in particular his ex-wife — knew about the abuse and failed to act. She denied any knowledge. Further legal proceedings are expected, as survivors push for accountability beyond Le Scouarnec himself. France: Verdict looms in shocking child sexual abuse trial To view this video please enable JavaScript, and consider upgrading to a web browser that supports HTML5 video 'Major institutional failures' Unlike in most criminal cases, in which police identify suspects based on victims' reports, this case unfolded in reverse: Investigators uncovered reams of evidence and then sought out victims — many of whom had no memory of the abuse and learned only from a call or visit from the police. Among them was 35-year-old Louis-Marie, who stood outside the Vannes courthouse on sentencing day with other survivors. Together, they unfurled a banner adorned with hundreds of sheets of paper, each printed with a silhouette representing one of Le Scouarnec's victims. Some of the figures were accompanied by names and ages — some of them under five. Many were labeled "anonymous." Survivors and family members rallied outside the courtroom in Vannes on Wednesday Image: Rosie Birchard/DW "We've realized there were major institutional failures, which to this day haven't been recognized," Louis-Marie told DW as he rallied with other survivors. Le Scouarnec admitted guilt on all counts and asked for "no leniency" in his sentencing. He apologized to most of his victims, asking for forgiveness, in a way some of them described as merely mechanical. Le Scouarnec does not plan to appeal. In a statement after Wednesday's verdict, the French National Medical Council (CNOM) vowed to "conduct all reforms needed to ensure that such a tragedy never arises again." France's health minister also promised to work with the Justice Ministry to better protect children and other patients from being exposed to predators. Regine, whose child was abused by Le Scouarnec, says parents are "considered secondary victims" Image: Rosie Birchard/DW Maximum jail time The guilty verdict was not a surprise. Regine, the mother of one abuse survivor, told DW before the reading that she was simply "exhausted." "As parents, we're considered secondary victims. But it's hard, knowing we left our children in the hands of this monster," she said. "That's something I'll regret forever. It won't disappear. For us, it's for life." But not for Le Scouarnec. Under French law, the maximum sentence for aggravated rape — whether it involves one victim or hundreds — is 20 years. And that's exactly what judges handed down to the 74-year-old former doctor in Vannes on Wednesday — with presiding judge Aude Buresi taking time to point out she was bound by her country's legal limits. Now, advocacy groups are calling for legislative reform, pushing for tougher sentences for serial rapists. Even with the maximum 20-year sentence imposed, 74-year-old Le Scouarnec could be eligible for release one day, possibly in the 2030s Image: Rosie Birchard/DW Calls for reform The court also imposed additional restrictions on Le Scouarnec, including measures to keep him away from children and animals and a ban on medical pracitce, should he ever be released. And that's a real possibility. Le Scouarnec has already spent several years in jail on pre-trial detention for separate convictions — including raping four children, two of whom were his nieces. Unlike in the United States, French jail sentences are not cumulative — meaning that some of his 20-year term is already considered served and he could be eligible for early release in the 2030s, subject to judicial approval. Le Scouarnec is already serving a 15-year sentence for the rape and sexual abuse of four children — including two of his nieces — a separate case for which he was convicted in 2020 Image: Rosie Birchard/DW Judges on Wednesday decided against taking the exceptional step of confining Le Scouarnec to a secure psychiatric facility after his release, citing his age and stated willingness "to make amends." And that has left some survivors and family members shocked and bitterly disappointed. Xavier Vinet, whose son was abused by Le Scouarnec as a child, shook with anger as he spoke to DW outside the court. "We should have lifelong jail time, given that we don't have the death penalty here. We should bring it back — that's what's needed for men like him," he said. Vinet's son Mathis was abused by Le Scouarnec as a child. The ex-surgeon says he is "responsible" for Mathis' death in 2021 Image: Rosie Birchard/DW Lost before justice was served Vinet's son Mathis will never see justice served. He died in 2021 of an overdose which his family says was suicide. "He was a joyful kid before all of this," Vinet said. "He got on so well with his grandfather and with me." In 2018, like so many others, Mathis and his family heard from police that Le Scouarnec had written about abusing him during a hospital stay when he was 10. "Then everything changed. Then he destroyed himself. That's what I can say about him," Vinet added. Le Scouarnec admitted in court that he bore "responsibility" for the deaths of Mathis and another of his young victims who died in 2020. Survivors ask: Why don't people want to know? There's no doubt that the case shocked France. So did the countless disturbing details that emerged during the trial — including a moment when the 74-year-old unexpectedly admitted to abusing his own granddaughter, a crime previously unbeknownst to both prosecutors and his son, according to French media's courtroom reporting. But survivors said there's been much less of a reckoning than they had hoped for. Gisele Pelicot's case grabbed headlines worldwide Image: Alexandre Dimou/REUTERS It's hard not to draw comparisons with the case of Gisele Pelicot, a French woman who waived her right to anonymity in the trial against her husband and about 50 other men who raped her over a 10-year period. Like Le Scouarnec's survivors, Pelicot only learned the details of these crimes through police, as her husband had been routinely drugging her and recruiting men online to rape her while she was sedated. Yet, unlike the Pelicot trial, which sparked international media attention, the Le Scouarnec case was comparatively low-profile. Back at the Vannes marina, local student Emma Le Floch explained why she thinks the ex-surgeon's crimes garnered less attention. "Everything to do with children is even more taboo," the 21-year-old said. "It's shocking to think that the people impacted live right nearby — that I could easily have had that doctor or been taken in for an operation with him or something like that," she added. "We don't talk enough about sexual violence against children," she said. "I think it's that we don't want to talk about it." If you are suffering from emotional strain or suicidal thoughts, seek professional help. You can find information on where to find help, no matter where you live in the world, at this website: Additional reporting by Agence France-Presse
BBC News
2 days ago
- Health
- BBC News
Joel Le Scouarnec: Prolific French paedophile's sentence leaves victims appalled
The victims of prolific French paedophile Joel Le Scouarnec have expressed their dismay that the former surgeon's 20-year prison sentence does not include preventive detention - meaning he could be released from jail in the early 74-year-old was found guilty on Tuesday of sexually abusing hundreds of people, most of them underage patients of his, over decades. Over the course of the trial he had confessed to committing 111 rapes crimes and 188 sexual assaults, and was sentenced to the maximum of 20 years in jail. Prosecutors - who dubbed Le Scouarnec "a devil in a white coat" - had asked the court to take the extremely rare provision to hold him in a centre for treatment and supervision even after release, called preventative detention. But the judge rejected this demand, arguing Le Scouarnec's age and his "desire to make amends" had been taken into Scouarnec will have to serve two-thirds of his sentence before being eligible for parole. But because he has already served seven years due to a previous conviction for the rape and sexual assault of four children, he may be eligible for parole by lawyer, Maxime Tessier, pointed out that saying Le Scouarnec could be released then was "inaccurate", as parole is not tantamout a his victims - many of whom assiduously attended the three-month-long trial in Vannes, northern France - are lamenting the sentence. "For a robbery you risk 30 years. But the punishment for hundreds of child rapes is lighter?" one victim told Le Monde. The president of a child advocacy group, Solène Podevin Favre, said that she might have expected the verdict "to be less lenient" and to include a post-sentence preventative detention."It's the maximum sentence, certainly," she said. "But it's the least we could have hoped for. Yet in six years, he could potentially be released. It's staggering."Marie Grimaud, one of the lawyers representing the victims, told reporters that while she "intellectually" understood the verdict, "symbolically" she could not. Another lawyer, Francesca Satta, said that she felt 20 years was too short a time given the number of victims in the case. "It is time for the law to change so we can have more appropriate sentences," she in her judgement read out to the court, Judge Aude Burési said that, while the court had "heard perfectly the demands from the plaintiffs that Le Scouarnec should never be released from jail, it would be demagogic and fanciful to let them believe that would be possible"."In fact," she added, "the rule of law does not allow for that to happen."One of Le Scouarnec's victims, Amélie Lévêque, said the verdict had "shocked" her and that she would have liked preventative detention to be imposed. "How many victims would it take? A thousand?"She argued that French law needed to change and allow for harsher sentences to take into account the serial nature of crimes. Similar complaints were raised in the aftermath of the Pelicot trial last December, in which Dominique Pelicot was found guilty of drugging and raping his wife, Gisèle, and recruited dozens of men to abuse her over almost a decade. Pelicot, too, was sentenced to 20 years - the maximum sentence for rape in French law - with the obligation to serve a minimum of two-thirds in case, however, will have to be re-examined at the end of the prison sentence before the question of preventative detention can be explored. In France, sentences are not served consecutively. Public prosecutor Stéphane Kellenberger noted last week that had Le Scouarnec been on trial in the US - where people serve one prison sentence after another - he may have faced a sentence of over 4,000 years. But Cécile de Oliveira, one of the victims' lawyers, praised the sentence, which she said had been "finely tailored" to Le Scouarnec's "psychiatric condition". She agreed with the court's decision not to impose preventative detention on the former surgeon, adding: "It needs to remain an entirely exceptional punishment."After the verdict was read out, victims, journalists and lawyers mingled outside the courthouse in Vannes. Many of the civil parties and their relatives, angered by the verdict, brought their frustration to the media. "All that I ask for is that this man cannot offend again," the mother of a victim told French outlets. "If this kind of behaviour needs to entail a life sentence, so be it."
News24
2 days ago
- Health
- News24
French doctor labelled ‘atomic bomb of paedophilia' jailed for 20 years for child sex abuse
Joel Le Scouarnec was handed a 20-year jail sentence for sexual abuse. He admitted to abusing hundreds of patients, most of them children. Some victims were disappointed with the sentence. A French court on Wednesday gave the maximum 20-year jail term to a surgeon who admitted sexually abusing hundreds of patients, most of them children, but victims, some in tears, expressed disappointment with the verdict. The three-month trial of Joel Le Scouarnec, 74, has brought to light the extent of his crimes and the suffering of his victims but also raised questions about why more was not done sooner to stop him. Le Scouarnec, one of the most prolific convicted sex predators in France's history, was already in prison after being sentenced in 2020 to 15 years for raping and sexually assaulting four children, including two of his nieces. The 20-year sentence handed down by presiding judge Aude Buresi was the maximum that could be given on the charge of aggravated rape in France, where sentences are not added together on individual counts. Le Scouarnec will not be able to ask for parole until two-thirds of his sentence is served. But the court in Vannes in the western region of Brittany rejected a rare demand from prosecutors that he should be held in a centre for treatment and supervision even after any release. The court cited his age and his 'desire to make amends'. Wearing a black jacket, Le Scouarnec listened to the verdict without flinching. Damien Meyer/AFP Cries of 'shame on the justice system' rang out in a separate room where victims watched the proceedings on a video screen, according to two sources. 'What a disappointment!' one of the victims, Manon Lemoine, said outside the courthouse, fighting back tears. Some of the survivors of the retired surgeon's abuse shared a tearful embrace. Another victim, Amelie Leveque, said she felt 'humiliated by this verdict'. Child rights advocates say the case highlights systemic failures that allowed Le Scouarnec to repeatedly commit sexual crimes. Le Scouarnec was also banned from contact with minors and practising medicine. He will not appeal his conviction, said his lawyer Maxime Tessier. The prosecutor has said that in the US, Le Scouarnec could have been jailed for '2 000 years'. In the trial, which began in February, Le Scouarnec admitted sexually assaulting or raping 299 patients - 256 of them under 15 - in hospitals between 1989 and 2014, many while they were under anaesthesia or waking up after operations. Survivors of the surgeon's abuse staged a protest outside the court holding signs such as 'Never again' and 'I accuse you'. They also held signs representing 355 victims. That number included 'forgotten victims and those whose cases have been dismissed', said Lemoine. Another victim, Celine Mahuteau, sent a letter to President Emmanuel Macron saying France has not implemented a national policy 'to prevent paedophilia'. 'I am not asking the court for leniency,' Le Scouarnec said on Monday. 'Simply grant me the right to become a better person.' The surgeon also said he considered himself 'responsible' for the death of two of his victims - Mathis Vinet, who died after an overdose in 2021 in what his family says was suicide, and another man who was found dead in 2020. Le Scouarnec documented his crimes, noting his victims' names, ages, addresses and the nature of the abuse. In his notes, the doctor described himself as a 'major pervert' and a 'paedophile'. 'And I am very happy about it,' he recorded. In 2005, he received a four-month suspended prison sentence after investigators linked his credit card to the online purchase of child sexual abuse material. But Le Scouarnec was neither required to undergo treatment nor barred from practising medicine. While Le Scouarnec has asked his victims for forgiveness, many have questioned the sincerity of his apologies, which he repeated almost mechanically. 'You are the worst mass paedophile who ever lived,' said one of the lawyers representing the victims, Thomas Delaby, describing Le Scouarnec as an 'atomic bomb of paedophilia'. There has been frustration among some that the trial has not had the impact in France they hoped for. The case has not won the attention given to the case of Dominique Pelicot, who was jailed last year for recruiting dozens of strangers to rape his now ex-wife Gisele. Health Minister Yannick Neuder said he would work with Justice Minister Gerald Darmanin to ensure that 'never again will we find ourselves in a situation where patients and vulnerable children' are exposed to predators. Gabriel Trouve, one of the victims, said many were relieved and looked forward to resuming their lives. 'We can, I think, be proud of this fight we didn't choose, but have decided to take on nonetheless,' he said.
