Latest news with #surgeon
Malay Mail
3 days ago
- Health
- Malay Mail
Devil in a white coat: How French surgeon Le Scouarnec got away with 25 years of child sexual abuses
VANNES (France), May 29 — Joel Le Scouarnec practised medicine in France for decades as an outwardly respected surgeon while preying on victims to sexually abuse and rape them, often while under anaesthesia or waking up after operations. A court in western France on Wednesday convicted Le Scouarnec, 74, who during the trial confessed to sexually assaulting or raping 299 patients between 1989 and 2014 and is already in jail after a previous sexual abuse conviction. Le Scouarnec, one of the most prolific convicted sex predators in France's history, received the maximum 20-year sentence for aggravated rape demanded by prosecutors. The former surgeon, who said himself he deserves no 'leniency,' will be ineligible for parole until he has served two-thirds of his sentence. Throughout the trial, Le Scouarnec admitted to the crimes but repeated apologies in a monotone voice that led some to doubt his sincerity. And questions remain over how he was allowed to continue working despite a conviction for possessing images of child sexual abuse. His 42-year-old son told the court that his father's 'perversion exploded like an atomic bomb' within the family, shattering the carefully maintained facade of a devoted surgeon. Authorities found some 300,000 child sexual abuse images, along with diaries in which the surgeon meticulously recorded the sexual abuse of children and animals. Le Scouarnec, who wrote in his notes that he was 'very happy' to be a 'paedophile', admitted the abuse of his patients – 256 of them under 15 – but claims he remembers little of what he did. 'Dangerous nature' 'You were the devil and he sometimes is dressed in a white coat,' prosecutor Stephane Kellenberger told Le Scouarnec, warning an additional trial could be required to cover the cases of further victims whose abuse is not part of the current case. The former surgeon 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. Victims and child rights advocates say the case highlights systemic failures that allowed Le Scouarnec to repeatedly commit sexual crimes. 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. And even after a colleague at Quimperle hospital alerted local and regional medical authorities in 2006 to his conviction and 'dangerous nature', Le Scouarnec continued practising in hospitals across western France. In one instance, he told the then-director of the Jonzac hospital in western France about his 2005 conviction but she hired him nonetheless in 2008. Nearly a decade would pass before he once again came under suspicion. 'Good surgeon, pervert' Le Scouarnec said during the trial he had two distinct personalities: both 'a good surgeon', and a 'pervert' who had no qualms about what he did to his patients. The divide between those two sides began to unravel in 2017, when his neighbour in Jonzac filed a complaint for indecent exposure in front of her six-year-old daughter – who later accused Le Scouarnec of digital rape. After his arrest, Le Scouarnec told authorities he first 'touched' a child – his niece – between 1985 and 1986. Investigators found in 2000 one of his nieces told her mother that she had been raped by her uncle, who, when confronted, admitted the abuse but no complaint was filed. During the trial, he also admitted sexually abusing one of his granddaughters. Le Scouarnec said that his wife has known about the abuse since 1996, an allegation she denies. 'There's nothing to make me think this. Nothing, nothing, nothing... I never had any doubts,' Marie-France, who divorced Le Scouarnec in 2023, told the court. While Le Scouarnec insisted his expressions of regret towards the victims were genuine, many said they did not believe him and some expressed anger with the court's decision. The court rejected a rare request to place him in a treatment facility after his release, citing his age and 'desire to make amends.' One of the victims, Amelie Leveque, 43, expressed anger that the court stopped short of imposing that measure on Le Scouarnec. 'I feel humiliated by this verdict. There are 300 victims. Why not go all the way?,' she said. 'How many victims does it take, 1,000?' — AFP
CNA
3 days ago
- General
- CNA
Former surgeon found guilty in French child sex abuse case
A former surgeon has been found guilty in France in one of the country's worst child sex abuse cases. Joel Le Scouarnec was given a 20-year-jail term, which his legal team said he would not appeal. Ross Cullen reports from Paris.
Daily Mail
3 days ago
- General
- Daily Mail
Mystery as 'angel' doctor dies in her sleep hours after all-night shift
A much-loved surgeon from Wisconsin has died in her sleep hours after an all-night shift - and her cause of death is yet to be determined. Dr. Anna Zaremba, who was in her thirties, passed away when her 'heart stopped' last week, according to the hospital where she worked in Radom, Poland. Devastated colleagues and patients remembered the medic as 'an angel' who was 'full of warmth, empathy and strength' in posts and comments on social media. 'The heart of an extraordinary woman stopped,' the Radom Medical Center said in a statement breaking the tragic news about Zaremba's death on Friday. 'Dr. Anna Zaremba - a doctor by profession, was a person who could be present in a way that one could feel peace and hope. 'She passed away, leaving not a void, but a mark - in each of us.' Zaremba was from Burlington, Wisconsin, and she got engaged in October, according to her Facebook profile. Skalpel, an organization representing surgeons in Poland, said she was also the daughter of a Chicago doctor. The organization added that she was a surgeon specializing in heart procedures at the Zabrza Z Heart Center, and she died after an all-night shift at the hospital. 'She loved horses, birds, plants, but most of all her heart was for patients,' Skalpel said in a statement. 'She was a model of empathy, commitment to talking to them (everyone was envious of her tons of chocolate in the cabinet... ). 'She could laugh at everything, but she also took her duties very seriously.' Her death was confirmed by her brother, Krys Zaremba, who gave details about her funeral on Facebook while requesting that anyone who wanted to pay tribute with a gift could donate to an animal sanctuary. Autopsy results for the beloved doctor are still pending. Facebook was flooded with heartfelt tributes for the much-loved medic. One colleague described Zaremba as 'an angel' as he shared a post by her brother giving details about her funeral. (Pictured: Zaremba with her brother) One colleague described Zaremba as 'an angel' as he shared her brother's post about her funeral arrangements. The doctor described her send-off as 'the last goodbye to our little angel'. A patient described Zaremba as an 'extremely devoted doctor, full of warmth, empathy and strength'. 'She left too soon, leaving behind not only professional earnings, but most of all countless people's hearts she touched with her presence,' the patient wrote. 'Thank you Anna for your light, care and every kind word. In our pain, we share with your family, loved ones and all who had the privilege of knowing you.' 'My beloved doctor Anne,' another patient wrote beside a heart emoji, while remembering the surgeon as 'beautiful, talented and so empathetic'. Another doctor said Zaremba 'exuded warmth' during every shift. 'She was a good person - one who could make even the heaviest of duties brighter with a smile and a kind word,' he wrote. 'Her care for her patients was sincere and deep. She never had a superficial approach to anyone - she could connect with everyone. 'She had something magical about her that made people love her and feel safe around her. 'Anne, it's hard to accept that you are gone. You've left a huge void... May you rest in peace.'
BreakingNews.ie
3 days ago
- General
- BreakingNews.ie
Former surgeon jailed for 20 years in France for raping 299 children
A 74-year-old former surgeon who raped hundreds of victims over more than two decades has been given the maximum sentence of 20 years in prison by a French court. Joel Le Scouarnec was found guilty of raping and sexually assaulting 299 children. Advertisement Le Scouarnec is already serving a 15-year prison sentence from 2020 for the rape and sexual assault of four children. The new trial in Brittany, western France, 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. Among the victims were 158 boys and 141 girls. Advertisement
Washington Post
3 days ago
- General
- Washington Post
Former doctor sentenced to 20 years for abusing 299 people, mostly children
A French court 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, Reuters reported. The trial of Joël Le Scouarnec, which began in February, is believed to be the country's largest child abuse case.
