Latest news with #LeScouarnec
Time of India
3 days 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
4 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
Daily Mail
4 days ago
- Health
- Daily Mail
EXCLUSIVE Pictured on their wedding day: The 'worst mass paedophile who ever lived' and the wife who allegedly helped hide his crimes - despite her own niece being his first victim
Smiling broadly from behind a tree in the French port city of Saint-Nazaire, the newlyweds could not have looked more conventional. It was June 29th, 1974 – a sunny Saturday on the Atlantic coast – and the picture shows Joël Le Scouarnec, a 23-year-old trainee surgeon, and his wife, a nursing assistant aged 20 whose maiden name was Marie-France Lhermitte. She was the daughter of a local docker in the Chantieres de l'Alantique – one of largest shipyards in the world – while his father was a carpenter from Paris. Ahead of the couple was a high-earning career in medicine, a 15th Century manor house they called home, and three happy and healthy sons. Except – as a court heard this week – behind the façade of wedded bliss and professional success, there were already deep, dark secrets. Both had allegedly experienced the vilest forms of domestic abuse from infancy, and decades of even more horrific crimes were to follow. Le Scouarnec, now 74, is now described as the 'the worst mass paedophile who ever lived' and an 'atomic bomb' of child abuse. On Wednesday, he was sentenced to two decades in prison – the maximum time possible under France's archaic sexual offences laws – for raping scores of youngsters over three decades, after prosecutors referred to him as 'a devil'. He admitted at least 299 horrifying crimes against victims who were mostly under the age of 15, with the youngest just four. Judge Aude Burési, sitting at the Morbihan Criminal Court, in Vannes, Brittany, sentenced Le Scouarnec after he was found guilty of 111 rapes and 189 sexual assaults. The offences took place between 1989 and 2014, while other alleged crimes were not prosecuted because they happened too long ago. During a three-month trial, the court heard how Le Scourarnec mainly abused patients while they were still under anaesthetic, or slowly waking up following operations. It was Thomas Delaby, a barrister representing one of his victims, who told Le Scourarnec: 'You are the worst mass paedophile who ever lived' and 'an atomic bomb of paedophilia. Your victims will never forgive you.' Such words certainly added to the anger and emotion of Le Scourarnec's trial, but so too did those of his wife, who only finally divorced him in 2023. Marie-France Le Scouarnec caused outrage by insulting victims during cross-examination, and also allegedly lying repeatedly. The most serious accusation against her was that she knew full well she was married to an active serial paedophile, but turned a blind eye to his depravity. There are now growing calls for Madame Le Scouarnec herself to be prosecuted for aiding and abetting a long-term criminal. To try and understand why, we need to go back to that June day more than half-a-century ago, when the Le Scouarnec's seemed to have the world at their feet. Le Scouarnec had 'pledged to become a surgeon from the age of ten', he said, and Marie-France was equally committed to caring for the sick. Both were determined to rise up the social scale, serving the public in a manner that would earn them huge respect, both within France's national health service, and from their large extended families. Le Scouarnec was a rising star in his chosen profession who had met his future wife at the Hôtel-Dieu Hospital, in the centre of Paris. Following their wedding, they moved out to the countryside around Nantes, on the west coast of France, to start married life together. Le Scouarnec specialised in digestive surgery, and he was soon much in demand in local hospitals and medical centres. There were tensions in the couple's relationship from day one, however – most caused by abuse in earlier life, defence lawyers told the court. Marie-France Le Scouarnec claimed she was raped by two uncles, while Le Scouarnec said his childhood home in the Paris suburbs was a hotbed of illegal acts, including incestuous ones. As a married couple, the Scouarnecs made a manor house in Loches, south of Tours, their principal family home. Madame Le Scouarnec focused on bringing up their boys – Fabien, Florian and Renan – while also organising a busy social life, which included regular dinner parties. Le Scouarnec admitted he was already consumed by 'dark impulses' at the time, and a young relative on his wife's side of the family was 'the trigger'. He told investigators in recorded interviews: 'My attraction to young children began with my niece, it must have been in 1985 or 1986. 'She was very affectionate, she would come and sit on my lap. My relationship with my wife was deteriorating. I transferred my sexuality onto this little girl. She was the trigger.' The niece – referred to in court by the pseudonym of Nathalie – was soon being regularly abused by Le Scouarnec at the Loches house, the court heard. The child was the daughter of Sylvie, Madame Le Scouarnec's own sister in Saint-Nazaire, and it appeared that both women knew exactly what was going on. Sylvie later tried to justify her silence by a 'psychological blockage' linked to her past, which included being sexual assaulted as a child. Back at Le Scouarnec's immediate family home, affairs took place in the marital bed, with Madame Le Scouarnec 'making advances' towards her husband's own brother, Patrick Le Scouarnec, as early as 1983. Marie-France Le Scouarnec also discovered a cupboard filled with child pornography magazines and child-sized dolls which were being used for sexual gratification, but she did not report them to the authorities. Joël Le Scouarnec was relegated to a small bedroom at the local hospital where he was working. 'I didn't see the point of divorce,' he said. 'Given what I was, I wasn't going to start my life over again.' Patrick Le Scouarnec, the now 70-year-old brother of the surgeon, agreed that Madame Le Scouarnec was a consummate liar. 'There is another person who could have ensured that my brother was arrested – it is his wife, Marie-France,' he said. He said that Marie-France Le Scouarnec 'loved her husband's salary,' but preferred to sleep with other men, including family members. In turn, Marie-France Le Scouarnec constantly claimed 'I knew nothing,' despite the overwhelming evidence to the contrary. 'I wondered how I could have not noticed anything,' Ms Le Scouarnec told the court. 'It's a terrible betrayal that he committed against me and my children.' But Madame Le Scouarnec's sister confirmed this was not true, saying Marie-France Le Scouarnec had at one point shouted: 'But all men love little girls.' Madame Le Scouarnec even called Nathalie – the neice abused by Le Scouarnec – a 'devious little girl,' who 'hung around Joël's neck so as to blackmail him'. By the year 2000, Joël Le Scouarnec's sister, Annie, had also learned from one of her 10-year-old daughters that she too had been sexually assaulted by her brother. 'I was taught to keep quiet at a very young age,' Annie said in court, while saying Marie-France Le Scouarnec certainly knew 'all about' her husband's paedophilia. A letter handwritten by Madame Le Scouarnec in 2010 that was also entered as evidence read: 'I ask you to please protect my youngest son, the only one who does not know his father's past.' This was seven years before detectives arrested Le Scouarnec in connection with offences against minors. In December 2020, he was sentenced to 15 years for the sexual abuse of four girls: a six-year-old neighbour, a four-year-old patient, and two of his own nieces, who were also four when the abuse started. In comments that have been published and broadcast across France, victims called for Marie-France Le Scouarnec to be prosecuted. Marie-Caroline Arrighi, a spokesman for four victims, said outside court: 'She knew. Marie-France Le Scouarnec knew and protected her husband.' Calling the couple 'evil,' Ms Arrighi added: 'Reporting sexual crimes and offenses against minors is a legal obligation.' The Lorient public prosecutor's office has opened two new investigations into Le Scouarnec's professional career, which ended in 2017. They include 'possibly unidentified and newly reported victims' of sexual abuse and rape. But when Le Scouarnec next appears in the dock, he is likely to repeat his long-term claim that the woman with whom he shared his life with over decades was oblivious to his crimes. It is a tactic that has only increased suspicion around Marie-France Le Scouarnec, especially as she is now the only family member who visits him in prison. Her divorce settlement in 2023 included her getting the couple's house, along with a generous pension worth the equivalent of around £2200-a- month, and power of attorney over their bank accounts. When a prosecutor asked in court if this was 'the price of silence' for so many decades when he could have been caught, Le Scouarnec replied: 'She was my wife.'
The Hindu
4 days ago
- The Hindu
Former French surgeon sentenced to 20 years in prison for raping, abusing hundreds of patients
A 74-year-old former surgeon was given a maximum 20-year prison sentence on Wednesday (May 28, 2025) by a French Court for the rape and sexual assault of hundreds of patients, mostly children, over more than two decades. Joël Le Scouarnec was sentenced after admitting molesting nearly 300 victims in one of the country's largest-ever child sex abuse cases, which has raised questions about how he was able to abuse so many, for so long. Judges followed the public prosecutor's recommendations regarding the length of the sentence, and the criminal court of Morbihan, in western France, ordered that Le Scouarnec should serve at least two-thirds of the punishment before he can be eligible for release, because he remains dangerous. But the Court did not impose a post-sentence preventive detention, prompting the anger of many victims. Solène Podevin Favre, president of an advocacy group for child victims of incest and other sexual crimes, expressed shock at a verdict 'we might have expected to be less lenient,' lamenting that post-sentence preventive detention was not imposed. '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.' Le Scouarnec, who has been jailed since 2017, is already serving a 15-year prison sentence, for a conviction in 2020 for the rape and sexual assault of four children, including two nieces. In French law, sentences run concurrently and Le Scouarnec should only serve the additional years after the first sentence is completed. Post-sentence preventive detention is a measure rarely used in France that applies to the country's most dangerous offenders. Had it been approved, Le Scouarnec could have been held indefinitely in a secure socio-medical facility, even after serving his time. "The Court fully understood the requests from the civil parties that Mr. Le Scouarnec should never be released from prison. It would be demagogic and illusory to make them believe that this is possible," the Court said. 'As things stand, the law does not allow it. And preventive detention, an exceptional measure, could in no way allow the Court to circumvent this reality.' Le Scouarnec's lawyer said his client won't appeal the ruling. The new trial began in February and laid bare a pattern of abuse between 1989 and 2014. Most of the victims were unconscious or sedated hospital patients at the time of the assaults. The average age was 11. Le Scouarnec has confessed to all the sexual abuse alleged by the civil parties, as well as to other assaults that are now beyond the statute of limitations. In a shocking admission during the trial, he also acknowledged sexually abusing his granddaughter — a statement made in front of her visibly distraught parents. During the trial, advocacy groups have accused health authorities of inaction after they were notified as early as 2005 of Le Scouarnec's conviction for possessing child pornography pictures. At the time, no measures were taken to suspend his medical license or limit his contact with children, and Le Scouarnec continued his abuse in hospitals until his arrest in 2017. Child protection groups hope that the case will help strengthen the legal framework to prevent such abuse. Le Scouarnec's trial came as activists continue to push to dismantle taboos that have long surrounded sexual abuse in France. The most prominent case was that of Ms. Gisèle Pélicot, who was drugged and raped by her now ex-husband and dozens of other men who were convicted and sentenced in December to three to 20 years in prison. In a separate case focussing on alleged abuse at a Catholic school, an inquiry commission of the National Assembly, France's lower house of Parliament, is investigating allegations of physical and sexual abuse over five decades. Victims of Le Scouarnec have, however, complained of a perceived lack of attention. "This trial, which could have served as an open-air laboratory to expose the serious failings of our institutions, seems to leave no mark on the government, the medical community, or society at large,' a group of victims said. Not all victims were initially aware they had been abused. Some were contacted by investigators after their names appeared in journals kept by Le Scouarnec, in which he meticulously documented his crimes. Others only realised they had been hospitalised at the time after checking medical records. Two of his victims took their own lives some years before the trial. Using the cover of medical procedures, the former abdominal and digestive surgeon took advantage of moments when children were alone in their hospital rooms. His method was to disguise sexual abuse as clinical care, targeting young patients who were unlikely to remember the encounters. The notebooks, which detail the abuse in graphic language, have become central to the prosecution's case. Despite the scope of the allegations, Le Scouarnec remained calm and composed throughout the trial. 'I didn't see them as people,' he told the Court. 'They were the destination of my fantasies. As the trial went on, I began to see them as individuals, with emotions, anger, suffering and distress.' He said his first act of abuse occurred in 1985, when he raped his 5-year-old niece. While he offered apologies to some victims, his demeanor struck many as detached and emotionless. The Court, however, noted that Le Scouarnec 'made a point of taking responsibility for his actions,' demonstrating 'his intention to make amends for the consequences of his actions.' The case first came to light in April 2017, when a 6-year-old neighbour told her mother that the man next door had exposed himself and touched her through the fence separating their properties. A search of his home uncovered more than 3,00,000 photos, 650 video files, as well as notebooks where he described himself as a pedophile and detailed his actions. A third trial is expected in the coming years, following the emergence of new allegations during this trial, including further abuse involving his granddaughter.
Sydney Morning Herald
4 days ago
- Sydney Morning Herald
Retired French surgeon guilty of 299 rapes gets 20-year prison sentence
Warning: This story contains graphic content A French court has sentenced a former surgeon to 20 years in prison after finding him guilty of the rape and sexual assault of hundreds of people – mostly children, and many under anesthesia – during his decades-long career. The trial of Joel Le Scouarnec, 74, which began in February, is believed to be the country's largest child abuse case. During the trial in Vannes in north-western France, Le Scouarnec confessed to raping and sexually assaulting 299 people between 1989 and 2014, the Associated Press and French media reported. Most of the victims were minors; their average age at the time of the alleged crimes was 11. The sentence is the maximum penalty available. Le Scouarnec is already serving a 15-year prison sentence in a separate case, in which he was found guilty in 2020 on four counts of rape and sexual assault against a six-year-old neighbour, a patient and two of his nieces. In France, sentences are served simultaneously, not added together. He was also sentenced to a two-thirds minimum sentence, so he cannot request an adjustment before early May 2030, said Giovanni Bertho-Briand, a lawyer in the case. With potential sentence reductions for good behaviour, he can hope to be released between early August 2030 and December 2033, Bertho-Briand added. The court did not uphold the prosecution's request to send Le Scouarnec to a supervised facility for an indefinite period after he serves his prison time, a very rare measure for convicted dangerous offenders in France.
