French surgeon Joël Le Scouarnec faces historic trial for child sexual abuse

Former French surgeon Joël Le Scouarnec is at the center of one of the most significant child abuse cases in the country’s judicial history. Accused of sexually abusing 299 victims—most of them minors under his medical care—Le Scouarnec, now 74, faces trial at the Morbihan criminal court in Vannes, Brittany. The trial, expected to last four months, could result in a 20-year sentence, which would be added to the 15-year term he is already serving following a 2020 conviction for the rape and sexual assault of four children.

Although Le Scouarnec does not dispute the allegations, he claims to have no memory of many incidents. Some survivors, having been unconscious during the abuse, also struggle to recall their experiences. His trial coincides with a broader movement in France to challenge societal silence on sexual abuse, exemplified by recent high-profile cases such as that of Gisèle Pélicot, who was drugged and assaulted by multiple perpetrators.

The case against Le Scouarnec first emerged in 2017 when a six-year-old neighbor accused him of inappropriate touching. Authorities later discovered extensive evidence at his home, including 300,000 photos, 650 explicit videos, and detailed journals in which he described his crimes and identified victims. Despite confessing to abuse dating back to the 1980s, some cases remain unprosecuted due to expired statutes of limitations.

The current trial will examine alleged offenses committed between 1989 and 2014, affecting 158 male and 141 female victims, with an average age of 11 at the time of the abuse. Investigators found that the former surgeon exploited the vulnerability of hospitalized children, abusing them in their rooms while they were alone.

For many survivors, discovering their names in his journals brought both clarity and anguish. Amélie Lévêque, one of the victims, recalled her hospitalization at age 9 in 1991, describing feelings of distress and helplessness upon learning she had been one of Le Scouarnec’s victims.

Despite a prior 2005 conviction for possessing child sexual abuse material, Le Scouarnec was still allowed to continue his medical career. Advocacy groups have joined the legal proceedings, demanding stricter regulations to prevent similar cases in the future.

Le Scouarnec’s lawyer, Thibaut Kurzawa, stated that his client will respond to the court’s questions, acknowledging the gravity of the accusations. Meanwhile, child protection organizations and women’s rights groups have called for public demonstrations outside the courthouse as the trial unfolds.