The verdict in France’s largest-ever child sexual abuse case is set to be delivered Wednesday, bringing the landmark three-month trial to an end.
Former surgeon Joël Le Scouarnec, 74, faces up to 20 years in prison for sexually assaulting 299 victims over three decades, most of them girls and boys whose average age was 11.
Hundreds of witnesses testified at the trial, including Le Scouarnec’s niece and a family friend.
The case has put a spotlight on the French medical system, which allowed Le Scouarnec to continue working despite many warning signs, including a 2005 conviction for possessing images depicting child abuse.
Instead, Le Scouarnec worked across nine public hospitals and private clinics in five regions of France, where he specialized in appendectomies, abdominal and gynecological surgery.
The historic three-month trial in France’s biggest-ever child sexual abuse case is about to conclude with the verdict on Wednesday.
For sexually abusing 299 victims over three decades, the majority of whom were girls and boys with an average age of 11, former surgeon Joël Le Scouarnec, 74, faces a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison. According to the prosecutors, many were abused while they were recovering from surgery or under the influence of anesthesia.
The trial took place in the Brittany region in the northwest town of Vannes, where Le Scouarnec, a father of three himself, confessed to many but not all of his charges of committing “hideous acts.”.
He was convicted in 2020 of raping three other people and a young neighbor when they were children, and his sentence will run concurrently with the 15 years he is currently serving.
The prosecution made the unusual request that he be kept in a treatment facility under supervision even if he is released, following complaints from attorneys for some of the victims that if his pretrial detention and parole eligibility were taken into consideration, he could be released by 2030.
Because Le Scouarnec meticulously documented his abuse in digital diaries, police were able to build a case against him despite the fact that many victims have claimed they don’t remember being assaulted.
A family friend and Le Scouarnec’s niece were among the hundreds of witnesses who gave testimony during the trial. Both, who are now in their 40s, claimed that he had attacked them in the early 1980s. But since it occurred too long ago, French law prohibited him from being charged with their alleged abuse.
Although it is against the law for an adult to have sex with a minor under the age of 15 in France, many adults are never prosecuted, according to child advocates.
Le Scouarnec’s case has drawn attention to the French medical system, which permitted him to carry on with his business in spite of numerous red flags, including a conviction in 2005 for possessing pictures showing child abuse.
Following that case, the once-respected local doctor should have had his medical privileges revoked, according to the attorneys for some of the victims. Rather, Le Scouarnec practiced gynecological, abdominal, and appendectomy surgery in five different regions of France, working in nine public hospitals and private clinics.
Advocates for the victims also hope that the case will force a serious examination of what they describe as a slack investigation of child abuse claims, especially when doctors, who are scarce in many places, are accused of wrongdoing.
According to Francesca Satta, a lawyer who has previously represented ten victims and their families, “there were warnings over 30 years,” and “this man benefited from a system that opened the door for him to have his own hunting ground.”. “.”.
Many victims watched the trial via video link in a 450-seat auditorium a short walk from the courthouse. The auditorium was unable to accommodate the large number of people who wanted to watch the case play out. The trial was broadcast to the media and onlookers from two additional transmission rooms in a former law school.
