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Joel Le Scouarnec has admitted to sexually assaulting or raping hundreds of children. Prosecutors have asked maximum 20-year sentence in France's largest child sexual abuse trial. Follow DW for more.
https://p.dw.com/p/4v02f
In his final statement before the judgment Le Scouarnec said he was not asking the court for leniency [FILE: February 24, 2025] Image: Benoit Peyrucq/AFPWhat you need to know
- Joel Le Scouarnec is charged with 111 rapes and 189 sexual assaults
- Most of the victims were children under 15-years-old
- The prosecution requested the maximum 20-year sentence
- Le Scouarnec is already serving a 15-year jail term after a 2020 conviction of rape and sexual assault of four children
Warning: This text contains descriptions of sexual violence.
05/28/2025May 28, 2025
Le Scouarnec admits to 'despicable' acts
At the opening of his trial in the city of Vannes in western France in February, Joel Le Scouarnec admitted to having committed "despicable" acts.
He is accused of aggravated rape and sexual assault against 299 victims between 1989 and 2014. The average age of the patients he allegedly assaulted was 11.
Le Scouarnec has accepted responsibility for "a large majority" of the allegations.
France shocked by major serial child sexual abuse case
Beginning around 1990, Le Scouarnec documented his crimes in a diary. Investigators discovered the notes in 2017 during a search of his home, which was conducted after a six-year-old girl told her parents that their neighbor, a surgeon, had raped her. The parents subsequently filed a complaint.
He recorded his victims' names, ages, and addresses, along with details of the abuse.
A search of his home also uncovered more than 300,000 photos, 650 pedophilic, zoophilic and scatological video files, as well as
notebooks where he described himself as a pedophile.
Many of the assaults reportedly occurred while the victims were waking up from anesthesia or during post-operative checkups.
https://p.dw.com/p/4v0Ef
Skip next section Welcome to our coverageOne of France’s biggest sexual abuse trials is nearing its conclusion, with a verdict expected in the coming hours.
Joel Le Scouarnec, a 74-year-old former surgeon, has admitted to sexually abusing or raping nearly 300 patients over a span of 25 years. Most of his victims were children, many of whom were unconscious or just waking up from surgery.
Prosecutors are seeking the maximum 20-year sentence and have called for post-release supervision in a secure facility.
The trial comes amid a broader reckoning over sexual violence in France, following the December conviction of Dominique Pelicot, who drugged his wife and invited dozens of men to assault her.
This blog will bring you live updates from the courtroom, expert analysis, multimedia content, and DW’s on-the-ground reporting.
https://p.dw.com/p/4v02h
