French Surgeon On Trial For Abusing Nearly 300 Patients, Mostly Children
Former French surgeon Joel Le Scouarnec, 74, went on trial on Monday, facing allegations of sexually assaulting or raping nearly 300 patients, the majority of whom were children—some as young as one year old.
Le Scouarnec, who is already serving a sentence for abusing four children, stands accused of committing assaults over a 25-year period at multiple hospitals across France. Many of the alleged crimes took place while patients were unconscious under anaesthesia or during post-operative checkups.
The trial, held in the western city of Vannes, is expected to send shockwaves through France, as it highlights systemic failures that allowed the surgeon to continue practicing despite a previous conviction for child abuse-related offences.
Prosecutors allege that between 1989 and 2014, Le Scouarnec sexually assaulted or raped 299 patients, including 256 minors. The youngest victim was just one year old, while the oldest was 70.
Investigators discovered detailed records of his crimes in personal diaries, where the surgeon described himself as a “major pervert” and a “proud pedophile.”
While the trial will be open to the public, seven days of testimonies from victims who were minors at the time of the abuse will be conducted behind closed doors.
Le Scouarnec’s ability to continue practicing despite his criminal history has raised serious concerns about systemic lapses in oversight.
In 2005, he was convicted for possession of child abuse images after being identified by the FBI as part of an online child exploitation network. Despite this, he was only given a four-month suspended sentence and was allowed to continue practicing medicine.
Even after authorities and colleagues raised concerns, Le Scouarnec was transferred to new hospitals rather than being removed from the profession. He continued working until his retirement in 2017, when a six-year-old girl accused him of abuse, leading to an investigation that uncovered his diaries documenting assaults on patients.
Frederic Benoist, a lawyer for the child advocacy group La Voix de l’Enfant (The Child’s Voice), condemned the failures that allowed Le Scouarnec to evade justice for so long.
“This is a collective failure. He should have been stopped years ago,” Benoist stated.
A separate investigation has been launched to examine institutional failures that enabled Le Scouarnec’s crimes, though no individuals or institutions have been formally charged yet.
If convicted, Le Scouarnec faces a maximum of 20 years in prison, as French law does not allow for sentences to be combined, even when multiple victims are involved.
The trial is expected to draw significant media attention, with over 260 journalists from 60 media outlets accredited to cover the case. A verdict is anticipated in early June.
