'I didn't see them as people': Ex-surgeon jailed for raping 299 kids

A 74-year-old paedophile erstwhile surgeon, who raped hundreds of victims complete a play spanning much than 2 decades, has been sentenced to nan maximum condemnation of 20 years successful situation by a French court.

Joël Le Scouarnec was coming recovered blameworthy of raping and sexually assaulting 299 children.

Judges followed nan nationalist prosecutor's recommendations regarding nan magnitude of nan condemnation and nan criminal tribunal of Morbihan ordered that Le Scouarnec should service astatine slightest two-thirds of nan condemnation earlier he tin beryllium eligible for release.

Le Scouarnec is already serving a 15-year situation sentence, for a condemnation successful 2020 for nan rape and intersexual battle of 4 children, including 2 nieces.

The caller proceedings successful Brittany, occidental France, began successful February and laid bare a shape of maltreatment betwixt 1989 and 2014.

Most of nan victims were unconscious aliases sedated infirmary patients astatine nan clip of nan assaults. The mean property was 11. Among nan victims were 158 boys and 141 girls.

During nan trial, defense groups accused wellness authorities of inaction aft they were notified arsenic soon arsenic 2005 of Le Scouarnec's condemnation for possessing kid pornography pictures.

At nan time, nary measures were taken to suspend his aesculapian licence aliases limit his interaction pinch children and Le Scouarnec continued his maltreatment successful hospitals until his apprehension successful 2017.

"Should Joël Le Scouarnec person been nan only 1 successful nan defendant's box?" charismatic Stéphane Kellenberger asked during his closing arguments.

"More could person been done," Kellenberger said.

"Things could person been done differently, moreover wrong nan notorious layers of French bureaucracy, wherever responsibilities are truthful often passed from 1 authority to different until, eventually, that work is lost, and hits guiltless lives."

Le Scouarnec confessed to each nan intersexual maltreatment alleged by nan 299 civilian parties, arsenic good arsenic to different assaults that are now beyond nan statute of limitations. In a shocking admittance during nan trial, he besides acknowledged sexually abusing his granddaughter — a connection made successful beforehand of her visibly distraught parents.

Le Scouarnec had been convicted successful 2005 for possessing and importing kid intersexual maltreatment worldly and sentenced to 4 months of suspended situation time. Despite that conviction, he was appointed arsenic a infirmary practitioner nan pursuing year. Child protection groups that person joined nan proceedings arsenic civilian parties dream that nan lawsuit will thief fortify nan ineligible model to forestall specified abuse.

Le Scouarnec's proceedings came arsenic activists proceed to push to dismantle taboos that person agelong surrounded intersexual maltreatment successful France. The astir salient lawsuit was that of Gisèle Pélicot, who was drugged and raped by her now ex-husband and dozens of different men who were convicted and sentenced successful December to 3 to 20 years successful prison.

In a abstracted lawsuit focusing connected alleged maltreatment astatine a Catholic school, an enquiry committee of nan National Assembly, France's little location of parliament, is investigating allegations of beingness and intersexual maltreatment complete 5 decades.

Victims of Le Scouarnec have, however, complained of a perceived deficiency of attention.

"This trial, which could person served arsenic an open-air laboratory to expose nan superior failings of our institutions, seems to time off nary people connected nan government, nan aesculapian community, aliases nine astatine large," a group of victims said successful a statement.

Not each victims were initially alert they had been abused. Some were contacted by investigators aft their names appeared successful journals kept by Le Scouarnec, successful which he meticulously documented his crimes. Others only realised they had been hospitalised astatine nan clip aft checking aesculapian records. Two of his victims took their ain lives immoderate years earlier nan trial.

Using nan screen of aesculapian procedures, nan erstwhile abdominal and digestive surgeon took advantage of moments erstwhile children were unsocial successful their infirmary rooms. His method was to disguise intersexual maltreatment arsenic objective care, targeting young patients who were improbable to retrieve nan encounters.

The notebooks, which item nan maltreatment successful schematic language, person go cardinal to nan prosecution's case.

Despite nan scope of nan allegations, Le Scouarnec has remained calm and composed passim nan trial.

"I didn't spot them arsenic people," he told nan court.

"They were nan destination of my fantasies. As nan proceedings went on, I began to spot them arsenic individuals, pinch emotions, anger, suffering and distress."

He said his first enactment of maltreatment occurred successful 1985, erstwhile he raped his five-year-old niece.

While he offered apologies to immoderate victims, his demeanour struck galore arsenic detached and emotionless.

"I don't show emotion, that's conscionable really I am," he said.

"That doesn't mean I don't consciousness it, but I don't definitive it."

The lawsuit first came to ray successful April 2017, erstwhile a six-year-old neighbour told her mother that nan man adjacent doorway had exposed himself and touched her done nan obstruction separating their properties.

A hunt of his location uncovered much than 300,000 photos, 650 paedophilic, zoophilic and scatological video files, arsenic good arsenic notebooks wherever he described himself arsenic a paedophile and elaborate his actions.

"Joël Le Scouarnec says he nary longer feels immoderate intersexual attraction to children, but there's nary measurement to verify that," Kellenberger, nan prosecutor, told nan court.

"Experts concluded that we cannot trust connected his connection unsocial and that his imaginable for early threat remains significant."

A 3rd proceedings is expected successful nan coming years, pursuing nan emergence of caller allegations during this trial, including further maltreatment involving his granddaughter.

Support is disposable from the National Sexual Assault, Domestic and Family Violence Counselling Service at 1800RESPECT (1800 737 732).