A retired surgeon accused of sexually abusing and raping 299 individuals – a vast majority of whom were his child patients – admitted to his court in France that he engaged in “repugnant acts.”
Caution: This narrative may include content that readers might find disturbing
Joel Le Scouarnec, 74, could face up to 20 years in jail if found guilty. This potential conviction would be in addition to the 15 years he is currently serving after being found guilty in 2020 of sexually assaulting and raping children.
“I committed odious acts,” Le Scouarnec stated to the court in Vannes. “Those were children who were my patients.”
Although Le Scouarnec admitted to the rapes and sexual assaults, he maintains that in certain cases, he does not consider himself guilty of these crimes.
“I acknowledge that these injuries cannot be undone,” he said. “I cannot alter the past, but I believe it is my duty to accept responsibility for my actions towards all these individuals and their loved ones.”
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Former surgeon on trial
Read more:
Diaries of a monster
Le Scouarnec allegedly stands as the most notorious child abuser ever apprehended in France.
Le Scouarnec’s crimes were exposed when a six-year-old neighbor informed her mother of the abuse she had suffered while playing in the garden of her home, in the southwestern French town of Jonzac.
Subsequent investigations led to his 2020 conviction and imprisonment for sexually abusing and raping four young girls.
However, evidence uncovered by the police during that investigation unveiled a much broader scope of abuse.
Searching Le Scouarnec’s home, police found 300,000 indecent photos and videos of children (some as physical copies and others on computers), 70 child-sized dolls – some of which were chained up – wigs, and crucially, hundreds of notebooks and diaries detailing his acts of abuse.
Le Scouarnec has confessed to child abuse dating back to 1985-1986, but some cases could not be prosecuted due to the expiration of the statute of limitations.
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What will the trial focus on?
The four-month trial in Vannes will examine alleged rapes and other abuses committed between 1989 and 2014 against 158 men and 141 women, who were on average 11 years old at the time.
The doctor sexually abused both boys and girls when they were alone in their hospital rooms, according to investigation documents.
“I didn’t really remember the operation. I remembered the post-operation, a surgeon who was quite mean,” one of the victims recalled of her time in the hospital when she was nine years old in 1991.
“I cried a lot.”
Le Scouarnec had been previously convicted in 2005 for possessing and importing child sexual abuse material. He was sentenced to four months of suspended prison time.
Despite his previous conviction, he was appointed as a hospital practitioner the following year.
