3 min readMay 28, 2025 10:10 PM IST
First published on: May 28, 2025 at 10:10 PM IST
A former surgeon has been sentenced to 20 years in prison for the sexual abuse of hundreds of patients, mostly children, following the biggest child abuse trial in French history.
Joël Le Scouarnec, 74, got the the maximum 20 years in prison for the rape and sexual assault of nearly 300 victims.
The court in Morbihan, western France, followed the public prosecutor’s recommendation and ordered that Le Scouarnec serve at least two-thirds of his sentence before becoming eligible for release, as reported by the Associated Press. Judges stopped short of imposing post-sentence preventive detention, sparking outrage among victims’ advocates who argued that he remains a danger to society.
Solène Podevin Favre, who leads a support group for survivors of incest and sexual abuse, said as quoted by AP, “It’s the maximum sentence, certainly. But it’s the least we could have hoped for. Yet in six years, he could potentially be released. It’s staggering.”
Le Scouarnec, who has been jailed since 2017, is already serving a 15-year sentence handed down in 2020 for abusing four children, including two nieces. Under French law, sentences are served concurrently, meaning the new sentence adds time only after the existing one is completed.
Despite being convicted in 2005 for possessing child pornography, Le Scouarnec was allowed to continue practicing medicine without restriction until his 2017 arrest. During the latest trial, advocacy groups accused health authorities of negligence, saying they failed to take meaningful action after the earlier conviction, AP reported.
Most of the abuse occurred between 1989 and 2014, targeting young patients—many unconscious or sedated during hospital procedures. The average age of victims was 11. Le Scouarnec admitted to all allegations, including those beyond the statute of limitations, and in a shocking courtroom moment, he confessed to abusing his own granddaughter, visibly distressing her parents present in the courtroom.
“I was a surgeon who benefited from my status to attack children, I don’t deny that,” he said during the hearing, while in his final statement he said: “I am not asking the court for leniency.”
“The Court fully understood the requests from the civil parties that Mr. Le Scouarnec should never be released from prison,” the judges said in their ruling, as quoted by AP. “But as things stand, the law does not allow it.”
Investigators discovered more than 3,00,000 disturbing images and video files in Le Scouarnec’s home, along with journals documenting his crimes in detail. Many victims were only contacted after their names appeared in those notebooks. Two have since died by suicide.
Though Le Scouarnec appeared calm during proceedings, his apology was seen by many as emotionally detached. “I didn’t see them as people,” he told the court. “They were the destination of my fantasies,” as reported by AP.
A third trial is expected, following the emergence of new abuse allegations during this one.
(With Inputs from Associated Press)
This courtroom sketch by Valentin Pasquier shows Joel Le Scouarnec, now 74, sitting in courtroom and accused of raping or abusing 299 people, mostly child patients (AP) 
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