Joel Le Scouarnec, the former surgeon who admitted to sexually abusing hundreds of patients, mainly children, between 1989 and 2014, has been sentenced to 20 years in prison.
Le Scouarnec, dressed in black, stood emotionless in court as Judge Aude Burési delivered the verdict. He had already admitted to the charges in March, according to the BBC.
Judge Burési stated that the court had taken into account the fact that the former surgeon intentionally targeted sick and vulnerable victims.
Le Scouarnec, 74, is already in prison after a 2020 conviction for the rape and sexual assault of four children, including two of his nieces.
The former doctor has been on trial since late February. During that time, dozens of victims testified, describing how the abuse they endured as children had severely affected their lives.
In a closed-door session held in March, Le Scouarnec admitted to sexually abusing 299 victims, many of them while they were under anesthesia or waking up from surgery.
He kept diaries detailing the assaults in graphic terms, which enabled police to identify many of his victims—some of whom had no memory of the abuse due to being unconscious at the time.
“I can no longer see myself the same way because I am a pedophile and a child rapist,” Le Scouarnec said in his final court statement last week.
“Much has been said. I don’t necessarily remember everything right now. No doubt it will all come back to me when I’m in my cell. But what I saw [in court] is the suffering for which I am responsible,” he added.
He also stated that he did not want nor expect leniency.
Earlier this month, he claimed to be “responsible” for the deaths of two victims, whose families say they died by suicide due to the trauma of the abuse suffered as children under his care.
The grandparents of Mathias Vinet, one of the victims who died four years ago, told the BBC about their grandson’s “descent into hell” after police informed him that his name was in one of Le Scouarnec’s diaries.
The trial has sparked outrage over the fact that Le Scouarnec was allowed to go unpunished for more than 15 years, and continued treating children despite a 2005 conviction for possessing child abuse images.
A victims’ group criticized the lack of political and public attention the case received.
“No lessons have been learned from this not by the medical community, nor by politicians,” the group said in a statement. Some victims held a protest outside the court before the verdict was delivered on Wednesday afternoon.
Catherine, the mother of one victim, said that on the day of the verdict, it was the first time she had seen so many journalists covering the trial, adding that she felt the victims had been forgotten.
“It’s tragic, but my hope now is that our message can be heard not for the generation that was harmed, but for my grandchildren,” she said, expressing hope that institutions will finally respond.
Le Scouarnec, who was present in court every day of the 14-week trial, repeatedly apologized for his “disgusting” actions.
