France's largest abuse process of children after Pelicot case

France's largest abuse process of children after Pelicot case

Paris - The numbers in the largest child abuse process in France are terrifying: 299 Maßy victims, sexually abused in nine hospitals over a period of 25 years - all by a single doctor, according to the public prosecutor.

The case Le Scouarneec

With the beginning of the court proceedings on Monday in Morbihan, Brittany, in which the retired gastrointestinal surgeon Joel Le Scouarnec is accused of decades of abuse, many hope that this process will mark a turning point in dealing with France with child abuse.

abuse for decades

Between 1986 and 2014, the now 74-year-old Le Scouarneec, who has a 15-year prison sentence for an earlier conviction for rape and abuse of children, has sexually abused patients in the hospital-only two years old and up to young adults-including rape. Despite a conviction for possession of child pornography in 2005, he was employed in private and public institutions.

The statement of the accused

In the court documents it is reported that Le Scouarnec told the investigators that he did not remember the individual attacks, but he had managed to do "sexual touch and penetration in some of his patients, especially children." In addition, in 2020 he was convicted of the abuse of his nieces and a neighbor. More than a dozen of his patients wanted to join the current lawsuit, but they were prevented from doing so by French law due to the limitation period of 30 years.

an important process for society

The process, which is expected to take four months, has already attracted national attention, just a few weeks after a frightening, monthly process of mass rape and drugs in France shocked the public. The plaintiff Gisele Pelicot became a powerful symbol in the struggle to steer the shame of sexual attacks back onto the perpetrators.

The voice of the victims

Many hope that this child abuse process will meet a similar purpose and contribute to confrontation with the topic in France, as well as with the institutions and the culture that have contributed to the fact that such crimes remained undetected for so long. "Why do some of my victims speak in the press?" Asked the lawyer Francesca Satta, who represents several of the alleged victims. "It is because they are part of this movement that silence is no longer an option." The oldest suspected victims are now almost 50 years old, while the youngest is 17.

The dimension of the process

Due to the extent of the procedure, a university lecture area near the court was rented to accommodate around 400 people, including alleged victims, their families, lawyers and media.

previous convictions

It is not the first time that Le Scouarnec is on trial for child -related crimes. In 2005 he was convicted of possessing child pornography after he was informed by the FBI because he had registered on a website for pedophilia. His four -month imprisonment was suspended.

The search for evidence

The sad reality of the victims

The evidence in the current procedure will be Le Scouarneec's own diaries that document actual events in which children were abused. His lawyers claim that they contained fantasies that he had not lived out. They are so comprehensive that a journal that was discovered during the 2020 proceedings helped the investigators to identify the dizzying number of its alleged rape.

trauma and persistent suffering

For the survivors of Le Scouarneec's alleged abuse, the years afterwards were traumatic. Although many of the children were sedated during abuse, the impact on their lives is tangible. The court documents describe psychological analyzes that often show persistent problems, especially in their later sexual relationships and in self -confidence.

"We have real, genuine suffering here. We have people who suffer from anorexia who are depressed who cannot get children," said lawyer Satta. In view of this, the question arises how this man was able to abuse so many young people over so many years.

The investigation in this case continues, while the questions of justice and responsibility continue to hang in the air.