A former French surgeon, Joel Le Scouarnec, facing trial for the sexual abuse of nearly 300 patients, predominantly children, has declared his intention to admit to certain rape charges. The 74-year-old, on trial in Vannes, is accused of assaulting or raping patients at various hospitals between 1989 and 2014, with a significant number of victims being under the age of 15.
Le Scouarnec told the court he was “done with lying” and ready to acknowledge acts of rape he had previously denied, following testimony regarding meticulous records he kept of the abuse. During the investigation, he had admitted to raping boys under the guise of medical examinations, but dismissed his written accounts of raping young girls as exaggeration or fantasy.
Despite a prior conviction in 2005 for possessing indecent images of children and concerns raised by colleagues, Le Scouarnec continued to practice until his retirement in 2017. His arrest followed accusations of rape by a six-year-old, leading to the discovery of his detailed accounts of abuse against patients on his computers. Victims and child protection advocates argue the case highlights systemic failures that allowed him to commit these crimes repeatedly.
He has been imprisoned since 2020, following a conviction for abusing four children, including the six-year-old and two nieces. His notes revealed he considered himself a major pervert and a paedophile. Police recovered approximately 300,000 images and videos from his hard drives, including both sexually abusive images of children and violent content such as beheadings and animal cruelty. A prosecutor read from his diary, revealing his arousal by a documentary about Nazi concentration camps.
During an expert appraisal of his personality, Le Scouarnec claimed to have no recollection of his childhood, suggesting he could not identify any experiences that might have led to his abusive behaviour. He stated that his childhood memories were based on his parents’ accounts and that he had not abused his own sons. However, one of his sons testified to being raped and sexually abused by Le Scouarnec’s father. Le Scouarnec also confessed to sexually abusing a granddaughter.
