French surgeon who abused children for decades is given 20-year sentence

A French former surgeon has been sentenced to 20 years in prison for the sexual abuse of hundreds of patients, mostly under the age of 15, after the biggest child abuse trial in France's history – a ruling that adds to pressure on the government to address failings in the health and justice system.

- Angelique Chrisafis

Joël Le Scouarnec, 74, whose guilty verdict confirmed him as one of the most prolific convicted sexual predators in France, worked as a digestive surgeon in public and private hospitals across Brittany and the west of France, often operating on children with appendicitis.

During the harrowing three-month trial in Vannes, Brittany, he stood accused of 111 rapes and 189 sexual assaults between 1989 and 2014 at a dozen hospitals. Many of the children he assaulted were under anesthetic or waking up after operations. Some were assaulted in their hospital beds. The average age of the victims was 11.