Overview

• Joël Le Scouarnec, a former surgeon, is accused of sexually abusing 299 patients, mostly children, between 1989 and 2014.
• Prosecutors have demanded the maximum 20-year prison sentence, with the verdict expected next week.
• Le Scouarnec meticulously documented his crimes in diaries, discovered in 2017 after a complaint by the parents of a six-year-old victim.
• Despite a 2004 conviction for child pornography, he continued to hold senior posts in multiple hospitals due to systemic oversight failures.
• The trial has drawn limited public and political attention, prompting criticism from victims and child protection advocates.