France is set to hold its largest-ever trial concerning child sexual abuse, where Joël Le Scouarnec, a former surgeon, now 74, is currently on trial for the sexual abuse of nearly 300 patients, many of whom were children.

Le Scouarnec, who is now 74 years old, faces charges related to decades of abuse, with victims spanning from 1989 to 2014. The trial, held in Vannes, Brittany, is set to examine the chilling details of his crimes, documented in notebooks he kept throughout his years as a doctor.

The abuse, which he carried out under the guise of medical procedures, came to light after a 2017 investigation was triggered by an accusation from a six-year-old girl. Le Scouarnec’s previous conviction in 2005 for child pornography, along with concerns raised by colleagues, had not stopped him from continuing his practice, exposing serious systemic failures in the medical and legal systems.

What makes this case especially harrowing is not only the scale of the alleged abuse but the fact that many of the victims were vulnerable children, some as young as one year old. The abuse allegedly took place over two decades, in hospitals across France, and was carried out during vulnerable moments, for instance, when patients were waking from anaesthesia or attending post-operative checkups.

Former French surgeon Joel Le Scouarnec is on trial, accused of a litany of sex crimes involving 299 alleged victims.

Sky's @adamparsons explains what we know about the case.

Warning: Video contains sexual abuse details viewers may find distressing. pic.twitter.com/3Tynpcdn4w

— Sky News (@SkyNews) February 24, 2025

The former surgeon faces hundreds of victims during a four-month trial in Vannes, Brittany, which begins Monday, 24 February. Le Scouarnec has confessed to the crimes but claims to have little memory of some events. Many victims, who were unconscious during surgeries, have no recollection of the abuse. Activists hope the trial will empower other survivors to speak out while pushing for societal change regarding how sexual abuse is handled.

Bonjour à tous ! Aujourd'hui débute le procès-fleuve de l'ex-chirurgien Joël Le Scouarnec, jugé devant la cour criminelle du Morbihan, à Vannes, pendant plus de trois mois. C’est la plus importante affaire de pédocriminalité que la France ait connue. LT ici pour @franceinfo pic.twitter.com/t7a46yJQEw

— Juliette Campion (@JulietteCampion) February 24, 2025

Despite being convicted in 2005 for possessing child pornography, the surgeon continued to practice medicine for many years. His conviction, along with concerns raised by colleagues, did not prevent him from doing so. As reported by France24, in 2004, while working in Lorient, French authorities were alerted by the FBI that the accused had accessed child sexual abuse images online. In 2006, he received a suspended four-month sentence for this offence. However, by that time, he had already moved to Quimperlé, another town in Brittany, where he was promoted, despite hospital management being aware of his criminal record.

Joel Le Scouarnec est un pédocriminel. Certes ! Mais, la somme des adultes qui n'ont pas écouté les enfants, des dénis dans sa famille, de la police qui a fait le minimum, de sa hiérarchie qui a minimisé, a fait de Le Scouarnec une arme de destruction massive des enfances pic.twitter.com/IC2ohybq5r

— Laurent Boyet (@assopapillons) February 24, 2025

The case, however, was finally brought to light in 2017, when a six-year-old girl accused Le Scouarnec of touching her. Further investigation led to the discovery of over 300,000 photos, 650 videos, and dozens of notebooks detailing his decades of abuse.

These findings showed that the former surgeon’s abuse spanned from 1989 to 2014. His method was to disguise his abuse as medical procedures, taking advantage of vulnerable, often unconscious patients. While some charges were barred due to the statute of limitations, this trial will still address many of his most egregious acts.

The survivors have said the trial represents a chance for justice and the beginning of a shift in how the legal system approaches sexual violence.

Amélie Lévêque, a victim from 1991, recalled a traumatic hospital experience at age nine, not understanding what had happened at the time. She later learned her name was in Le Scouarnec’s notebooks, a revelation that began to unravel the truth she had lived with for years. The emotional toll was profound, as she struggled with depression and isolation after confronting the truth.

“In a few seconds, I was back to being nine years old again in the recovery room at the clinic. Everything came back: the feelings, the smells, the cold, the heat, the rape. All of it,” Lévêque told La Montagne newspaper.

Activists see this case as an urgent wake-up call for society to change its approach to handling sexual abuse.

Victims and child protection advocates are now speaking out about the broader failures that allowed Le Scouarnec to continue working as a surgeon. Frederic Benoist, a lawyer for La Voix de l’Enfant (The Child’s Voice), described the fact that he was allowed to continue to practise “was the result of collective failure.”

The trial will be held publicly, with seven days of victim testimony from those who were minors at the time of the abuse conducted behind closed doors to protect their identities. If convicted, Le Scouarnec faces a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison. French law does not allow sentences for multiple victims to be added together.