Overview

• Joël Le Scouarnec, a former surgeon, is on trial in Vannes, France, accused of sexually abusing nearly 300 patients, including children, over decades.
• Victims have shared harrowing accounts of abuse during medical procedures, with many under anesthesia, leading to lasting psychological and physical scars.
• One victim, now 36, described years of depression, eating disorders, and a deep-seated mistrust of others after being abused at age 13 during a routine operation.
• Another victim expressed a complete loss of trust in healthcare professionals, significantly impacting their career and personal life.
• The trial has highlighted systemic failures in hospitals where the abuse occurred, with some victims questioning how such acts went unnoticed for so long.