French paedophile surgeon who abused hundreds sentenced to 20 years in jail

Joel Le Scouarnec, the former surgeon who has admitted sexually abusing hundreds of patients, mostly children, between 1989 and 2014 has been sentenced to a maximum term of 20 years in jail.

Le Scouarnec was dressed in black as he stood emotionless in court listening to judge Aude Burési deliver the verdict. In March, he admitted sexually abusing all 299 victims.

Judge Burési said the court had taken into account the fact that the former surgeon had especially sought out unwell, vulnerable and sedated victims.

The sentence has a mandatory minimum term of two-thirds - and because Le Scouarnec has already served seven years, he may be eligible for parole by 2030.

Amélie Lévêque, one of Le Scouarnec's victims, said: "To think one day he could walk down the street, see people - that upsets me. We [the victims] no longer have a normal life while they're giving him back that life, and that disgusts me."

"Twenty years is little compared to the number of victims in this trial," said Francesca Satta, a lawyer for some of the victims. "It is time for the law to change so we can have more appropriate sentences."

His lawyer Maxime Tessier said Le Scouarnec had no intention of appealing.

Le Scouarnec, 74, has been dubbed France's most prolific paedophile. He is already in jail after being sentenced in 2020 to 15 years for raping and sexually assaulting four children, including two of his nieces.

The former doctor has been on trial in Brittany since late February.

During that time dozens of his victims have testified, telling the court how the abuse they sustained as children shaped their lives.

In March, Le Scouarnec admitted sexually abusing all of his victims, many while they were under anaesthesia or waking up after operations.

He kept diaries in which he described the assaults in graphic detail, which allowed police to track down his victims – many of whom had no memory of the abuse they suffered while in Le Scouarnec's care.

Earlier this month he also said he was "responsible" for the deaths of two victims whose relatives say died by suicide, following the trauma of being sexually assaulted by Le Scouarnec when they were children.

The grandparents of one of them, Mathis Vinet, who died four years ago, told the BBC about the "descent into hell" experienced by his grandson when police revealed to him that his name appeared in one of the diaries.

"I can no longer look at myself the same way because I am a paedophile and a child rapist," Le Scouarnec said during his last statements to the court last week.

"Many things have been said. I don't necessarily remember everything now. It will no doubt come back to me when I'm in my cell, but what I've witnessed [in court] is the suffering for which I am responsible," he said.

He added he neither wanted or expected to be given any leniency.

A long banner representing the many victims of Le Scouarnec was unfurled near the courthouse on Wednesday

The trial has sparked fury that Le Scouarnec got away with the abuse for over fifteen years, and that he was allowed to continue to treat children despite a conviction in 2005 for downloading paedophile images.

The Victims of Joel Le Scouarnec Collective group lamented that the trial had failed to capture the attention of politicians and society at large.

"No lesson has been drawn from this, neither from the medical world nor from politicians," the group said in a statement. Several victims held a protest in front of the courthouse ahead of the verdict being delivered on Wednesday afternoon.

Catherine, the mother of a victim, said on the day of the verdict that it was the first time she had seen so many journalists covering the trial and added that she felt the victims had been forgotten.

"It's a pity but my hope is that now our message can be passed on. Not for the generation that has been hurt but for my grandchildren," she said, adding that she hoped institutions would "react".

Le Scouarnec, who was present in court every day of the 14-week trial, repeatedly apologised for his "revolting" acts.

"I never saw tears running down his cheeks," said victim Manon Lemoine

Many of his victims were left unimpressed with his demeanour. "His words are always the same, in the same tone, I don't see any sincerity in them," Louis-Marie, 35, told the BBC. "The only thing I hope is that he doesn't do any more harm to society... that he stays locked up."

"I never saw tears running down his cheeks," said another victim named Manon Lemoine.

But Maxime Tessier, Le Scouarnec's lawyer, said he believed his client had been sincere. "He was very moved during this trial... It was very important for him to confess as he did. It was a moment of truth and justice."

Mr Tessier also pointed the finger at the medical establishment, which civil parties have accused of not doing more to stop Le Scouarnec's from practicing medicine even when rumours of his paedophilia were circulating widely.

"No one acknowledged responsibility, whereas all the victims said it's not only a man who did that - but also the system which let him do it," he told the BBC.

The National Order of Doctors (Cnom), which has also filed a lawsuit against Le Scouranec, said in March that it "expressed its deep regrets" as the former surgeon should have been "prevented from practicing".

"This situation has highlighted poor communication between the different entities of the Order of Doctors, and we deeply regret this," they said in a statement.

Additional reporting by Marianne Baisnée in Vannes