Paris: A French court on Friday sentenced 74-year-old former surgeon Joël Le Scouarnec to 20 years in prison for the rape and sexual abuse of 299 children. The court ruled that Le Scouarnec must serve at least two-thirds of his sentence before being eligible for release. This verdict comes as a shocking reminder of a dark pattern of abuse that spanned decades.
A Pattern of Predation in Hospitals
Le Scouarnec was found guilty of sexually abusing 299 victims, including 158 boys and 141 girls, many of whom were hospital patients under anesthesia or recovering from operations. The abuse occurred between 1989 and 2014, with the victims’ average age being just 11 years old. Prosecutors in the case described Le Scouarnec as “a devil in a white coat.”
He was already serving a 15-year prison sentence from a 2020 conviction for the rape and sexual assault of four children, including two of his nieces. French law typically has concurrent sentences, meaning the 20-year sentence will effectively be the maximum he serves.
Questions Raised Over Institutional Failures
The trial, which began in February in Brittany, highlighted disturbing questions about the failure of health authorities to act sooner. Le Scouarnec had been convicted in 2005 for possessing child pornography, yet his medical license was not suspended, and his contact with children was not restricted. This allowed him to continue his heinous acts in hospitals until his arrest in 2017.
During the trial, Le Scouarnec admitted to the charges, stating he had committed “despicable acts” and that he was “aware that the harm [he had] caused is beyond repair.” The judge presiding over the case emphasized how Le Scouarnec preyed on victims when they were at their most vulnerable, calling his actions “a blind spot in the medical world.”
This case, one of France’s largest child sex abuse cases, has reignited a national debate about institutional oversight and the protection of vulnerable children within the medical system.
