Joel Le Scouarnec, 74, stands accused of raping and sexually assaulting 299 former patients, 256 of whom are minors. He would be jailed for up to 20 years if found guilty. A former surgeon stands trial later this month on charges of raping or sexually assaulting nearly 300 former patients, the majority children and many unconscious at the time, over a quarter of a century throughout western France.
The sheer size and brutality of the charges against 74-year-old Joel Le Scouarnec ensure that his four-month trial, which is set to begin on February 24, will probably have a massive reaction at home and around the world.
And it will carry extra weight coming two months after Frenchman Dominique Pelicot was found guilty of recruiting dozens of strangers to rape his sedated then-wife Gisele Pelicot, a case that made her an international feminist heroine.
In this instance, Le Scouarnec is the only defendant charged with crimes against hundreds of victims. The Vannes trial in Brittany will be public but seven days of victim testimony from victims who were targeted as minors will be closed to the public.
Mr Le Scouarnec has in general admitted his participation in most of the incidents in question” and his “strategy of concealment”, regional prosecutor Stephane Kellenberger stated. The victims’ average age is 11 but the ex-surgeon is also charged with raping a one-year-old and sexually assaulting a 70-year-old.
He is said to have perpetrated the sexual assaults between 1989 and 2014 in France when he was working at a dozen hospitals in western France. Le Scouarnec faces trial on 111 rapes and 189 sexual assaults, for the aggravating factor that he took advantage of his status as a doctor and targeted primarily children.
256 of the 299 victims were less than 15 years old. If found guilty, Le Scouarnec will be sentenced to a maximum term of 20 years imprisonment — French law does not permit sentences to be cumulative even when there are many victims.
