‘Devil in a white coat’: Trial of French paedophile surgeon Le Scouarnec enters final phase

He’s set to emerge from the trial as one of France’s most prolific convicted sexual predators. Former surgeon Joel Lusqual has admitted to 111 rapes and 189 sexual assaults at a dozen hospitals. He attacked victims, most of them children, while they were under anesthetic or waking up from an operation. Addressing the courtroom in the western Britany region last week, prosecutors asked he served the maximum penalty of 20 years in jail. They also made the rare demand that he’s held in a center for treatment and supervision even after any release. Personally, I was thinking 20 years or more. Unfortunately, the law doesn’t allow for more, but the prosecutor did request it, and that’s important. The mandatory treatment, the ban on residing in certain areas of France. Last week, one of Lusqualck’s lawyers said his client was utterly guilty, but highlighted what he called the 74 year old’s respect for the justice system. Mr. Luarnac has been, as you’ve seen throughout the hearing, extremely respectful and attentive to each statement made. It is in this spirit of respect and humanity that we will plead his case. Many victims and their families have questioned the sincerity of Lueneck’s words of regret, like this woman whose grandson was a victim and committed suicide. We can’t believe him. Even if he knelt before me, I wouldn’t believe him. The victims are calling on the government to draw lessons from the trial. They say they were let down by a system that allowed Lqualeneck to continue working until his retirement in 2017, even after a 2005 conviction for owning child pornography. As they took the stand, some health officials and hospital managers denied any wrongdoing, saying the lack of surgeons left them with no other choice.

The trial of a French surgeon who for years sexually abused hundreds of patients, most of them minors, enters its final phase on Monday, with the accused’s lawyers set to make their closing arguments. The verdict is expected on Wednesday.
#LeScouarnec #paedophile #France

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11 comments

  3. Little correction around the language used, an extremely large amount of people who commit physical CSA offences are heterosexual men who don't meet the DSM clinical diagnostic criteria for you know what we don't know yet whether he fits that criteria or just got off on abusing his position of power over them, so maybe just calling him a child predator would've fit better to this case.

    Oh and before anyone says anything, inappropriately misusing clinical language like this prevents these people from seeking treatment, making them a safety risk to children.

  5. I might be more willing to believe his apology had he come forward sooner. But he had two decades to stop this.

  10. A remarkable travesty that the French medical system permitted pediatric surgeon Le Scouarnec to continue practising for A FURTHER 12 YEARS – after he was found in possession of child po.rnogra.phy in 2005. Their plea → 'We were short of surgeons, we had no choice.' Translate: 'We take no responsibility for his many hundreds of victims who were in OUR care.'

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