A French court in VANNES found retired surgeon Joel Le Scouarnec guilty on Wednesday of sexually abusing hundreds of patients, many of them children. The trial has deeply impacted France,exposing a dark chapter within the medical system.

Joel Le Scouarnec’s abuse is considered one of France’s worst cases of pedocriminality to reach trial. He was accused of aggravated rape and sexual assault against 299 victims.

Le Scouarnec admitted to the court that he committed “despicable acts” over a 25-year period while working as a doctor in western France. The trial has ignited concerns about the accountability and oversight within the publicly run healthcare system.

Le Scouarnec, 74, received a sentence of 20 years in prison.

Presiding Judge Aude Buresi, visibly emotional, stated that Le Scouarnec had preyed on victims during their most vulnerable moments, including while they were under anaesthesia.

“Your acts were a blind spot in the medical world, to the extent that your colleagues, the medical authorities, were incapable of stopping your actions,” the judge told Le Scouarnec.

The court mandated that Le Scouarnec be placed on the sex offenders register and prohibited him from practicing medicine or having any contact with minors.

During the trial,Le Scouarnec acknowledged the irreparable harm he had caused.

“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 stated.

The judge acknowledged the victims’ desire for Le Scouarnec to remain in jail indefinitely but explained that the law did not permit a life sentence.

the trial coincided with a period of increased scrutiny of sex crimes in France, following the conviction of Dominique Pelicot in December for drugging his wife and inviting men to rape her.

Decades of Abuse Unveiled

“I owe it to all these people and their loved ones to admit my actions and their consequences.”

Le Scouarnec was already serving time for previous rape convictions. In 2020, he was sentenced to 15 years in prison for the rape and sexual assault of a child neighbor, his two nieces, and a 4-year-old patient.

Victims and their families have questioned why local and national health authorities failed to intervene and stop Le Scouarnec. Despite a 2005 conviction for downloading child sexual abuse images and a suspended jail sentence, he continued to work in public hospitals.

Dozens of victims and rights activists gathered outside the courthouse before the verdict, displaying a banner made of hundreds of white paper pieces with black silhouettes, each representing a victim. Some papers included a first name and age, while others were marked “Anonymous”.

The full extent of Le Scouarnec’s abuse came to light after his re-arrest in 2017 on suspicion of raping his 6-year-old neighbor.

Police discovered electronic diaries detailing over two decades of rapes and sexual assaults on young patients in hospitals, along with sex dolls, wigs, and child pornography.

The local prosecutor has initiated a separate inquiry to determine if any agencies or individuals bear criminal liability for failing to prevent the abuse.