A French court has sentenced 74-year-old former surgeon Joël Le Scouarnec to a maximum of 20 years in prison for raping and sexually assaulting 299 children over a period spanning more than two decades. Le Scouarnec, who is already serving a 15-year prison sentence for a 2020 conviction involving the rape and sexual assault of four children, including two nieces, was found guilty of abusing his young patients between 1989 and 2014.
*The Abuse*
Le Scouarnec’s modus operandi involved disguising sexual abuse as medical care, targeting children when they were under anesthesia or waking up after operations. The victims included 158 boys and 141 girls, with some as young as five years old. Le Scouarnec’s own granddaughter and niece were among his victims.
*Investigation and Trial*
The investigation into Le Scouarnec’s crimes began in 2017 when a six-year-old neighbor’s parent reported him for exposing himself and touching their daughter inappropriately. A search of his home revealed over 300,000 photos, 650 pedophilic videos, and notebooks detailing his crimes. During the trial, Le Scouarnec offered apologies, stating that he didn’t see his victims as people, but rather as the “destination of his fantasies”.
*Criticism of French Bureaucracy*
Prosecutor Stéphane Kellenberger criticized the French bureaucracy for allowing Le Scouarnec to continue practicing medicine despite a 2005 conviction for possessing child sexual abuse material. Le Scouarnec received a four-month prison sentence for this conviction but was appointed as a hospital practitioner the following year.
*Victim Impact*
Many victims expressed frustration that the trial did not adequately address the systemic failures that enabled Le Scouarnec’s crimes. Two victims even died before the verdict. The sentence has a mandatory minimum term of two-thirds, meaning Le Scouarnec could be eligible for parole by 2030, which has upset many of his victims.
