Daughter of convicted rapist shares her communicative
Vannes, France — A French tribunal connected Wednesday gave the maximum 20-year jailhouse word to a surgeon who admitted sexually abusing hundreds of patients, astir of them children, during much than 2 decades.
The three-month trial of Joel Le Scouarnec, 74, has brought to airy the grade of his crimes and the suffering of his victims but besides raised questions of wherefore much was not done sooner to halt him.
Le Scouarnec, 1 of the astir prolific convicted enactment predators successful France's history, was already successful situation aft being sentenced successful 2020 to 15 years for raping and sexually assaulting 4 children, including 2 of his nieces.
The 20-year condemnation for aggravated rape handed down by presiding justice Aude Buresi was the maximum that could beryllium fixed connected the complaint of aggravated rape successful France, wherever sentences are not added unneurotic connected idiosyncratic counts.
This tribunal sketch created connected May 23, 2025, shows the defendant, French retired surgeon Joel Le Scouarnec, listening during a proceeding successful his proceedings connected charges of rape and intersexual battle of 299 erstwhile patients, astatine the courthouse of Vannes, occidental France.
BENOIT PEYRUCQ/AFP/Getty
Le Scouarnec volition not beryllium capable to inquire for parole until two-thirds of the verdict is served.
"It was taken into relationship that the acts committed are of peculiar gravity owed to the fig of victims, their young property and the compulsive nature" of the crimes, said the verdict.
But the tribunal rejected a uncommon request from prosecutors that helium should beryllium held successful a halfway for attraction and supervision adjacent aft immoderate release, citing his "desire to marque amends" for what helium had done.
The authoritative has said past week that successful the United States — wherever the other is the lawsuit — Le Scouarnec could person been jailed for "2,000 years."
In this trial, which began successful February successful Vannes successful the occidental portion of Brittany, Le Scouarnec has admitted sexually assaulting oregon raping 299 patients — 256 of them nether 15 — successful hospitals betwixt 1989 and 2014, galore portion they were nether anesthesia oregon waking up aft operations.
He was charged with 111 rapes and 189 intersexual assaults.
In March, during the trial, Le Scouarnec admitted without immoderate solicitation that helium had sexually abused his ain granddaughter, too, though she was not among the alleged victims successful the case.
The erstwhile surgeon stood up and addressed the tribunal conscionable aft his eldest son, whose sanction has not been utilized successful the trial, gave evidence.
"This is possibly, astir certainly, the past clip I volition spot my son, due to the fact that I heard his choler and his distress," Le Scouarnec told the tribunal that day. "I respect that anger, it is well-founded. Yes, I admit to having abused my granddaughter, his daughter."
He past turned to his lad and said, "forgive me."
Survivors of the surgeon's maltreatment staged a protestation extracurricular the tribunal successful Vannes, holding signs specified arsenic "Never again" and "I impeach you."
They besides held signs representing 355 victims of Le Scouarnec.
That fig included "forgotten victims and those whose cases person been dismissed," said Manon Lemoine, 1 of the victims.
"We privation to beryllium together," she said.
Another victim, Celine Mahuteau, connected Wednesday sent a missive to President Emmanuel Macron saying that France has not implemented a nationalist argumentation "to forestall pedophilia."
"I americium not asking the tribunal for leniency," Le Scouarnec said successful his closing connection connected Monday.
"Simply assistance maine the close to go a amended person," helium said.
One of the lawyers, Maxime Tessier, had asked the tribunal to instrumentality into relationship the "exceptional" quality of Le Scouarnec's confession erstwhile helium admitted each the charges against him.
The retired surgeon besides said helium considered himself "responsible" for the decease of 2 of his victims — Mathis Vinet, who died aft an overdose successful 2021 successful what his household says was suicide, and different antheral who was recovered dormant successful 2020.
Le Scouarnec documented his crimes, noting his victims' names, ages, addresses and the quality of the abuse.
In his notes, the doc described himself arsenic a "major pervert" and a "pedophile."
"And I americium precise blessed astir it," helium recorded.
Victims and kid rights advocates accidental the lawsuit highlights systemic failures that allowed Le Scouarnec to repeatedly perpetrate intersexual crimes.
In 2005, helium received a four-month suspended situation condemnation aft investigators linked his recognition paper to the online acquisition of kid intersexual maltreatment material.
But Le Scouarnec was neither required to acquisition attraction nor barred from practicing medicine.
While Le Scouarnec has asked his victims for forgiveness, galore of them person questioned the sincerity of his apologies, which helium repeated astir mechanically implicit the weeks of the trial.
"You are the worst wide pedophile who ever lived," said 1 of the lawyers representing the victims, Thomas Delaby, describing Le Scouarnec arsenic an "atomic weaponry of pedophilia."
There has been vexation among immoderate that the proceedings has not had the interaction successful France they hoped for.
The lawsuit has not won the attraction fixed to the lawsuit of Dominique Pelicot, who was jailed past twelvemonth for recruiting dozens of strangers to rape his present ex-wife Gisele.
But Health Minister Yannick Neuder said connected Wednesday helium would enactment with Justice Minister Gerald Darmanin to guarantee that "never again volition we find ourselves successful a concern wherever patients and susceptible children" are exposed to predators.
"What we privation to accidental is ne'er again," helium told broadcaster France Info. "How did we get into this situation?"
English (US) ·