A former surgeon confessed to abusing at least 299 people, mostly children, in what is considered the largest case of its kind in French history.
The former surgeon who pleaded guilty to sexually abusing 299 people, most of them children, was sentenced to the maximum 20 years in prison by a French court on Wednesday, in what is considered the largest pedophilia case in the country’s history.
Judge Aude Buresi handed down the sentence from the courthouse in Vannes, a coastal town in Brittany where the majority of the abuse took place. Judge Buresi also barred the former surgeon, Joël Le Scouarnec, from ever practicing medicine or having contact with minors.
The trial came amid a growing reckoning in France over sexual abuse, with the numbers of victims reporting to the police surging, cases crowding the courts and new #MeToo movements erupting at a dizzying pace.
Many of the victims felt the trial of Mr. Le Scouarnec was drowned out by that chorus and did not cause the public outcry and political responses they had hoped for. Many also said they did not receive the psychological support they needed.
“What we are waiting for is society to understand this could happen to anyone,” said Christine Trouvé, the mother of a victim.
A former gastric surgeon, Mr. Le Scouarnec, now 74, committed the sexual abuse from 1989 to 2014, while working in nine clinics and hospitals in western and central France. The victims’ average age was 11. Many were sedated or recovering from operations during the abuse, and had no memory of it.
