Joël Le Scouarnec Sentenced to 20 Years Over Abuse of 299 Patients
- Joël Le Scouarnec, a 74-year-old former French surgeon, was sentenced to 20 years for sexually abusing 299 patients mostly underage between 1989 and 2014 in Brittany.
- The abuse continued for over 25 years despite a 2005 conviction for paedophile images and warnings, with Le Scouarnec admitting to the assaults and keeping detailed diaries of the crimes.
- Dozens of victims testified over the 14-week trial, describing abuse under anesthesia or while waking from surgery, with some victims later dying by suicide following the trauma.
- Le Scouarnec said he was "responsible" for two victims' deaths and accepted no leniency, while critics and victims condemned the medical establishment for failing to stop him sooner.
- The verdict underscored systemic failures, sparking protests and calls for institutional reform, with the National Order of Doctors expressing deep regret for not preventing the abuse.
356 Articles
356 Articles

French surgeon sentenced to 20 years in prison for raping and abusing hundreds of patients
A 74-year-old former surgeon was given a maximum 20-year prison sentence Wednesday by a French court for the rape and sexual assault of hundreds of patients, mostly children, over more than two decades.
"Devil in a white coat": Pedophile French surgeon sentenced over sexual abuse of 299 people
A retired surgeon in France has been found guilty of sexually abusing hundreds of patients, many of them children and under anaesthetic. Joel Le Scouarnec is now the most prolific paedophile to go to trial in the country, with 299 victims listed. A WARNING THAT THE FOLLOWING STORY CONTAINS DETAILS THAT MAY DISTRESS SOME LISTENERS.


Devil in a white coat: How French surgeon Le Scouarnec got away with 25 years of child sexual abuses
VANNES (France), May 29 — Joel Le Scouarnec practised medicine in France for decades as an outwardly respected surgeon while preying on victims to sexually abuse and rape them, often while under anaesthesia or waking up after operations. A court in western France on Wednesday convicted Le Scouarnec, 74, who during the trial confessed to sexually assaulting or raping 299 patients between 1989 and 2014 and is already in jail after a previous sexua…
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