French Surgeon Faces Trial for Unprecedented Child Sex Abuse Case

Joël Le Scouarnec, accused of abusing 299 children over three decades, begins trial in one of France's largest pedophilia cases.

Joël Le Scouarnec, a retired French surgeon, is accused of sexually abusing 299 minors between 1986 and 2017 during his medical career.
The trial, set to begin on February 24, 2025, in Vannes, will address charges of aggravated rape and sexual assault committed in multiple hospitals across western France.
Investigators uncovered detailed records of the crimes in Le Scouarnec's journals, alongside tens of thousands of pedopornographic images and videos found in his home.
The Commission on Incest and Sexual Violence Against Children (Ciivise) has called for cultural shifts to confront systemic silence that enabled decades of abuse.
Legal complexities, including statutes of limitations, have excluded 19 victims from the current trial, highlighting challenges in prosecuting historical crimes.