French Justice sentences former surgeon to 20 years in prison for abusing 299 underage patients
In its closing arguments, the defense urged the court to consider “elements favorable to the defendant,” including his full confession, while the victims called for a “verdict to match.”
Illustration of the defendant during his first trial.
On Wednesday, French justice sentenced former surgeon Joël Le Scouarnec to 20 years in prison for raping or sexually assaulting 299 patients, most of whom were minors.
The trial, which commenced in February, shocked the country, occurring only months after another exceptional case: the serial rapes of Gisèle Pelicot, which led to the conviction of 51 men.
The prosecution requested the maximum 20-year prison term for this "devil in a white coat," as well as less common measures, including his confinement in a treatment and monitoring center following the completion of his sentence.
However, the court in Vannes, western France, handed down a lighter sentence, highlighting his "willingness to make reparations" and his age. The 74-year-old will be eligible to apply for parole after serving two-thirds of the 20-year sentence.
In its closing arguments, the defense urged the court to consider "the elements favorable to the defendant," including his full confession, although the victims called for a verdict that reflects the severity of the crimes.
Society
France prepares for trial of ex-surgeon accused of sexually abusing more than 300 minors
Agustina Blanco
"I do not ask for clemency from the court. Simply that it grants me the right to be a better person and to recover this part of humanity that I have lacked so much," the defendant said Monday in his last words before the court.
New investigation
Joël Le Scouarnec admitted during the trial to committing all the acts between 1989 and 2014 in hospitals. Of these victims, 256 were under 15 years old.
The Vannes court tried him for 111 rapes and 189 sexual assaults. During the trial, he also admitted to other “sexual abuses” against his granddaughter and took responsibility for the suicides of two of his victims.
The former surgeon has been serving a 15-year prison sentence since 2020 for rapes or sexual assaults involving two nieces, a young patient in the 1990s, and a 6-year-old neighbor in Jonzac in 2017.
Following the neighbor’s complaint, investigators found “notebooks” in the defendant’s home detailing his assaults, along with thousands of child pornography images and dozens of dolls, among other items.
On March 20, the prosecutor’s office announced the launch of a new investigation into “unidentified or newly reported victims” of the former surgeon.
A "very dangerous" subject
He married and had three children between 1980 and 1987. However, beneath the image of a stable family, the marriage became increasingly strained as the doctor’s pedophilic tendencies grew.
“This gentleman is an enigma,” said Jean-Jacques Dumond, one of the psychiatrists who examined him and was unable to identify the cause of his pedophilia. His colleague, Isabelle Alamone, added, “His dangerousness is very great.”
In 2004, authorities discovered his crimes after tracing his bank card, which he had used to access child pornography sites. In 2005, a court in Vannes sentenced him to four months in prison, suspended.
Despite this conviction for possession of child pornography, he continued his career as a surgeon in several hospitals until his retirement in 2017.
Frustration
The months of hearings were marked by horror over the ex-physician’s actions and frustration among victims at the inaction of medical and judicial authorities.
On May 19, several former top managers of medical institutions appeared to answer one key question: how was he able to continue working as a surgeon after his 2005 conviction?
But the court received no answers. One after another, witnesses denied any responsibility, instead blaming the "French administrative system," which infuriated the civil parties.
Before the verdict, a victims’ group held up a banner outside the court bearing the number 355—representing the 299 victims from the trial, along with those “forgotten” and others whose cases were time-barred, according to Manon Lemoine, one of its members.
The collective, which condemned the "political silence" throughout the trial, announced a meeting on June 11 with Health Minister Yannick Neuder. On France Info radio, he pledged to work toward preventing such events from happening again.
The trial was overshadowed by accusations against Prime Minister François Bayrou, who was alleged to have covered up cases of violence at a Catholic school—claims he denies.
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