 "Protestors hold signs bearing the names of the victims and a banner reading 'how many Le Scouarnec are still protected by the medical board' (C) during a demonstration in support of victims at the courthouse on the sidelines of retired surgeon Joel Le Scouarnec's trial in Vannes, northwestern France, on May 28, 2025. (Photo: AFP)")
A French court on Wednesday (May 28) sentenced retired surgeon Joel Le Scouarnec to the maximum 20 years in prison for sexually abusing hundreds of patients, most of them children, over more than two decades, in one of France’s worst recorded cases of serial sexual abuse.
The 74-year-old was convicted of aggravated rape following a three-month trial in the western town of Vannes. The presiding judge, Aude Buresi, said the sentence reflected the “particular gravity” of the crimes, citing the number of victims, their young age, and the compulsive nature of the abuse.
Under French law, sentences for multiple offenses are not cumulative. Le Scouarnec will not be eligible for parole until he serves at least two-thirds of the sentence.
Le Scouarnec was already serving a 15-year sentence handed down in 2020 for raping and sexually assaulting four children, including two of his nieces.
In the latest case, the former gastrointestinal surgeon admitted to raping or sexually assaulting 299 patients between 1989 and 2014 2,56 of them under the age of 15. Many of the assaults took place while the victims were under anesthesia or just regaining consciousness after surgery. He was formally charged with 111 counts of rape and 189 counts of sexual assault.
He also told the court he felt “responsible” for the deaths of two of his victims: Mathis Vinet, who died in 2021 from an overdose his family says was suicide, and another man found dead in 2020.
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The case has raised alarm about systemic failures that allowed Le Scouarnec to continue practicing medicine despite prior red flags. In 2005, he received a four-month suspended sentence after investigators linked him to the purchase of child sexual abuse material online. He was not barred from working in hospitals or ordered to undergo treatment.
France’s Health Minister Yannick Neuder said he would work with Justice Minister Gerald Darmanin to prevent similar cases. “Never again will we find ourselves in a situation where patients and vulnerable children are exposed to predators,” Neuder said.
Child protection advocates and victims’ families have demanded stricter oversight in the medical profession and more rigorous reporting mechanisms for suspected abuse.
With inputs from agencies