A French court on Wednesday found a retired surgeon guilty of the rape and sexual assault of patients, some of them whilst under anesthetic, in a trial that has shaken France.
Joel Le Scouarnec had told the court he committed “despicable acts” over a 25-year period whilst he worked as doctor in western France, in a trial that has raised uncomfortable questions for the publicly run healthcare system.
Le Scouarnec, 74, was sentenced to 20 years in jail.
Le Scouarnec’s abuse of his patients, many them children at the time, is considered France’s worst case of pedocriminality to go to trial. He stood accused of aggravated rape or sexual assault against 299 victims.
“I’m aware that the harm I’ve caused is beyond repair,” Le Scouarnec told 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 added.
The trial took place at a time of reckoning around sex crimes in France after the conviction of Dominique Pelicot, who was found guilty in December of drugging his wife unconscious and inviting dozens of men to their home to rape her.
Le Scouarnec is already serving jail time for earlier rape convictions. In 2020, he was sentenced to 15 years in prison for the rape and sexual assault of a child neighbor, as well as his two nieces and a 4-year-old patient.
Victims and their families have publicly asked why local and national health authorities failed to stop Le Scouarnec. In 2005, he was convicted of downloading images of child sexual abuse and received a suspended jail sentence, but managed to continue working in public hospitals.
Decades of abuse
Several dozen victims and rights campaigners gathered outside the courthouse ahead of the verdict, holding a banner made of hundreds of pieces of white paper with black silhouettes, one for each victim. Some of the papers bore a first name and age, while others referred to the victim as “Anonymous.”
The extent of Le Scouarnec’s abuse was revealed after his re-arrest in 2017 on suspicion of raping his 6-year-old neighbor.
Police discovered electronic diaries that appeared to detail more than two decades of rapes and sexual assaults on young patients in hospitals across the region, as well as a cache of sex dolls, wigs and child pornography.
The trial took place in Vannes, a small town in Brittany.
The local prosecutor, whose office led the investigation into Le Scouarnec, has opened a separate investigation to ascertain if there was any criminal liability by agencies or individuals who could have prevented the abuse.