Joel Le Scouarnec, a 74-year-old retired French surgeon, is standing trial in Vannes, western France, for sexually abusing almost 300 patients, the majority of whom were under 15 years of age. The case is one of the biggest child sex abuse trials in the nation’s history.
Le Scouarnec is accused of assaulting or raping 299 patients from 1989 through 2014. Prosecutors claim he preyed on victims under anesthesia or when they awoke from procedures in a dozen hospitals. After a 2005 conviction for possession of sexually abusive images of children, he was allowed to keep practicing until retiring in 2017.
Abuse Spread to His Residence
Throughout the trial, Le Scouarnec confessed to exploiting children who came to his house. Victim S. was one of the victims who testified about the sexual abuse she experienced in the early 1990s. She explained how Le Scouarnec raped her in a bedroom when she was six years old while her mother and his wife were in the living room. Weeks later, he led her into the bathroom and digitally raped her.
“I would take advantage (of one of my sons) inviting friends (over) to abuse them,” Le Scouarnec admitted in court. He particularly remembered the “bathroom incident,” saying, “I was looking for something to do and there, I saw little S. going to the toilet. So I went to the toilet to commit the acts as I described them.”
Le Scouarnec divulged his tactic to remain undetected, stating that he said as little as possible throughout the abuse to deter children from reporting. “I only thought about myself,” he confessed.
Investigation and Arrest
The crimes of the French surgeon were discovered when a six-year-old accused him of rape in 2017. Police further found detailed diary entries of abuse on his computers. The trial is ongoing as victims and their families fight for justice for the decades-long traumas inflicted by Le Scouarnec.
