Paedophile French surgeon who abused 300 kids in his care sentenced to 20 years in jail

Joel Le Scouarnec, 74, the retired surgeon who admitted to sexually assaulting or raping 299 patients in hospitals in western France between 1989 and 2014 while they were under anaesthesia or were waking up after surgery, has been sentenced to a maximum term of 20 years in jail.

Le Scouarnec, dressed in black, stood emotionless in court listening to judge Aude Burési deliver the verdict. He had admitted the charges in March in this case and is already in jail after being convicted and sentenced to 15 years in prison in 2020 for rape and sexual assault of four females, including a girl next door and two of his nieces.

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. It is time for the law to change so we can have more appropriate sentences,” said Francesca Satta, a lawyer for some other victims.

Le Scouarnec’s lawyer, Maxime Tessier, said he has no intention of appealing. Le Scouarnec has been dubbed France’s most prolific paedophile.

The former doctor has been on trial in Brittany since late February, and during this 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 to sexually abusing all 299 victims. He even maintained diaries in which he jotted down 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 his care.

“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.