Overview

• Joel Le Scouarnec, a 74-year-old former surgeon, is accused of raping or sexually assaulting 299 individuals, most of them children, between 1989 and 2014 in western France.
• The trial, set to begin in Vannes on February 24, will be the largest child sexual abuse case in French history, with testimony from minors to be heard behind closed doors.
• Le Scouarnec is already serving a 15-year sentence after being convicted in 2020 of sexually assaulting four children, including two nieces and a 4-year-old patient.
• Authorities found detailed diaries during a 2017 investigation that allegedly document decades of abuse, often targeting anesthetized patients in hospitals where Le Scouarnec worked.
• The case has raised serious questions about oversight in France's healthcare system, as Le Scouarnec continued practicing despite a 2005 conviction for possessing child pornography.