Doctor accused of sexually abusing young patients. The number of victims is terrifying. The trial has begun
Le Scouarnec, now 74, was arrested in 2017 after he attacked a six-year-old girl who lived nearby. During a search, police found his diaries, which described the acts he committed against his young patients. He gave very specific names, ages and addresses of his victims.
The diaries also show that he felt unpunished and proud of not being caught. The descriptions are now the basis for charges of rape and sexual assault against 299 children between 1989 and 2014.
On the first day of his trial, Monday, Le Scouarnec pleaded guilty to most of the charges. “Mr. Le Scouarnec is in no way trying to evade responsibility for the acts he committed,” the defendant’s lawyer, Maxime Tessier, told the court.
The hearing that day was to be devoted mainly to technical issues of the trial. On the second day, Tuesday, the defendant's three sons and his ex-wife will testify. She assures that she never suspected her husband of pedophilia, although his notes suggest otherwise.
The trial is taking place in Vannes, Brittany. Le Scournec worked in several hospitals in the city as a doctor specializing in digestive surgery, and this is where he found his victims. He exploited children who were under anesthesia, waiting for the moment when they would be alone.
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The paedophile doctor went unpunished for yearsThe man remained unpunished for years, although in 2005 the American FBI found him during an operation targeting paedophile websites and informed the French services about him. Le Scouarnec was then given a four-month suspended sentence for possession of child pornography.
This did not prevent him from continuing to work in other hospitals. In 2006, one of his colleagues reported Le Scouarnec's disturbing behavior, but the surgeon continued to work with children. It was not until 2020 that he was convicted of rape and sexual assault of four children, including two from his own family.
The prosecutor's office has opened a separate investigation into the responsibility of public institutions or individuals who failed to prevent the crime. On May 19, the former heads of the establishments where Le Scouarnec worked will be questioned in court.
In the morning, before the trial began, trade unions and feminist organizations such as Solidaires and Nous Toutes gathered outside the courthouse to denounce what they saw as the negligence of medical institutions.
This is undoubtedly the biggest paedophilia case ever to take place in France. The 74-year-old faces up to 20 years in prison.
(Source: PAP, francetvinfo.fr)
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