Scandal view: Surgeon convicted - 300 victims, 20 years in prison!

Scandal view: Surgeon convicted - 300 victims, 20 years in prison!

A French surgeon, Joel Le Scouarnec, was now sentenced to 20 years in prison by a court in Brittany. This case is one of the worst child abuse scandals in the modern history of France. The 74-year-old confessed to having sexually abused almost 300 patients, including 256 children. The deeds took place over a period of 25 years between 1989 and 2014 and mainly include attacks during anesthesia or when you wake up after operations.

Le Scouarnec was confronted in the indictment with 111 cases of severe rape and 189 cases of sexual abuse. The shocking details of the abuse only became known after his arrest in 2017 when the police found electronic diaries that documented his actions. These records contained precise descriptions of the attacks that the public prosecutor used as evidence in order to show the extensive extent of its crimes. At the same time, the allegations of abuse remained hidden for years, since the accused was only sentenced to a suspended sentence in 2005 due to the possession of child pornographic material.

The ongoing process

The trial against Le Scouarneec is the largest of its kind in history in France and attracts high media attention. In Vannes, the allegations against the surgeon, which was described as a "particularly atypical personality", are negotiated. Almost 300 victims, whose average age is 11 years old, are listed by the public prosecutor. Among them are boys and girls - one of the incidents dated 1995 when a child was abused by an operation by Le Scouarneec while waking up.

The prosecutor also pointed out that many of the abuse cases took place during anesthesia or sedation, which would have made the civil lawsuit more difficult. Although the doctor browned with the fact that he was not given a direct suspicion of his approximately 100 colleagues during the investigations, an advertisement from a neighbor in 2017 led to the search.

Reforms in France

This case raises far -reaching questions regarding security in the French health system. Critics are concerned that Le Scouarnec could continue to work in public hospitals despite his previous penalty. The conviction today is the maximum punishment that is possible in the French legal system, since punishments cannot be served one after the other.

The LE Scouarnec case is not viewed isolated, but as part of a greater social rethink about sexual abuse and dealing with perpetrators in France. Experts also see a turning point for the #Metoo movement in the country in the latest developments. A comparable case in which 51 men were condemned for years of rape and sexual abuse of a woman suggests a hardened reaction to sexual violence in society.

Overall, the process is expected to continue until June. Progress in the investigation of the acts and the reactions of the public could result in significant impulses for reforms in the health system and in dealing with sexual abuse in France. The reporting on this case also receives a lot of attention from the media, since more than 265 journalists have registered for the negotiations.

The events and its consequences will have a shadow on the French health system for a long time and are an expression of the urgent need for changes in dealing with sexual abuse and the security of patients.