Victims and activists are questioning why nothing was done to stop a French paedophile surgeon from working with children, even though they were aware of his previous convictions.
According to court documents, several members of staff at the Health Ministry knew about Joel Le Scouarnec’s crimes, but appeared to turn a blind eye.
The son of the retired surgeon – who is accused of raping and sexually assaulting hundreds of young patients – told a court on Tuesday that Joel Le Scouarnec had been a good father, but that the crimes of which he is accused are unforgivable.
Le Scouarnec (74) faces charges of aggravated rape and sexual assault against 299 victims, most of them children at the time, and many of them while under anaesthetic, reports Reuters.
“It’s like Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde,” his elder son told the court in the second day of the trial, in reference to the 19th-century gothic horror novella about an outwardly respectable man who commits shocking crimes.
“I can’t hate him because I have nothing to criticise him about as a father. But I can’t forgive him for what he may have done.”
Joel Le Scouarnec is not accused of abuse against his own children, but he was already convicted in a separate case in 2020 of the rape and sexual assault of four children, including two of his nieces. Already serving prison time for the earlier convictions, he faces up to 20 years behind bars if found guilty. The two sentences would run concurrently.
In what is considered France’s worst case of paedo-criminality to go to trial, Le Scouarnec’s alleged abuse of patients spanned 25 years, from 1989 to 2014.
As his trial opened on Monday, he acknowledged that he had “committed despicable acts” and that the harm he had caused was “beyond repair”.
The Independent reports that the case also raises uncomfortable questions for France’s publicly run healthcare system, with victims and rights groups voicing concerns.
In a family already shaken by the abuse allegations, his elder son told the court on Tuesday that his late paternal grandfather had repeatedly abused and raped him.
“I was nine, 10-years-old,” he told the court. “It happened dozens of times.”
After Le Scouarnec’s younger son (38) had testified – saying he has not been in touch with his father since the allegations against him became public – Le Scouarnec tearfully apologised to him in the court.
Both sons said they had overall had a rather happy, privileged childhood and that their father had not abused them.
The youngest said. “I have very good memories of my father, I think that’s also why I haven’t been in touch with him since 2017, because deep down I want to keep that image of him.”
Victims
A number of the former surgeon’s alleged victims followed proceedings from a nearby building.
“My clients don’t expect anything from Le Scouarnec. In France, whether you rape one child or 300, it’s the same sentence,” said Marie Grimaud, a lawyer representing some of them, before the hearing.
“They are only hoping to find some dignity, humanity and consideration from the justice system.”
Ongoing
Le Scouarnec was handed a suspended four-month jail sentence for possessing child pornography in 2005, but managed to secure a job as a surgeon at a public hospital in Quimperle, western France, the following year.
He continued to work in public hospitals until his re-arrest in 2017 on suspicion of raping his six-year-old neighbour. Police discovered electronic diaries that appeared to detail his sexual assaults on scores of patients in hospitals across the region.
In 2020, Le Scouarnec was convicted of the rape and sexual assault of his child neighbour, as well as two of his nieces and a four-year-old patient, and sentenced to 15 years in prison.
Further investigations into the alleged victims logged on his files led prosecutors to later charge Le Scouarnec with the aggravated rape and sexual assault of 299 people.
Francois, a plaintiff in the case and who was 12 when Le Scouarnec allegedly abused him, said he felt betrayed by the authorities.
“Why did nobody stop this surgeon from working with children?” said Francois, who asked to be identified only by this name.
According to court documents, some members of staff at the health ministry were aware of the 2005 conviction. The ministry did not respond to requests for comment.
Soon after Le Scouarnec secured a job in Quimperle in 2006, a psychiatrist at the hospital alerted management to their concerns about the surgeon’s behaviour, a court document showed.
The Quimperle public hospital did not respond to requests for comment on why Le Scouarnec was hired after his conviction for holding child pornography or why he retained his job after concerns were raised.
Another probe
Local prosecutor Stephane Kellenberger has opened a separate probe into the possible criminal liability of other public bodies or individuals who could have prevented the abuse.
“There is no way somebody can rape and assault children for all those years without the knowledge of people around,” said Homayra Sellier, head of Innocence in Danger, which is supporting 40 alleged victims and is a plaintiff in the case.
Outside the courthouse in Vannes, a small town in Brittany, protesters held banners accusing medical authorities of complicity.
The National Council of the Order of Physicians, which oversees adherence to doctors’ code of ethics in France and has disciplinary powers, said it was working with the judiciary to prevent future harm to patients.
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