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Diary of retired French surgeon details '250 paedophile assaults'

Retired surgeon Joël Le Scouarnec, 66, who is awaiting trial for his alleged rape of two girls aged four and six, is now suspected of assaulting about 250 other children over a 30-year period after investigators discovered a hidden diary belonging to him which detailed attacks, including on his young patients.

La rédaction de Mediapart

22 August 2019 à 19h34

This article is freely available.

A surgeon is suspected of sexually assaulting about 250 children in what could be France’s biggest paedophile scandal, reports The Times.

Joël Le Scouarnec, 66, a specialist in abdominal surgery, is alleged to have attacked girls and boys over three decades, sometimes while they were under anaesthetic.

He was convicted of possessing images of child sexual abuse 14 years ago but allowed to continue practising until his arrest in 2017. The latest allegations surfaced during an investigation into claims that he raped two girls, aged four and six, in western France.

Mr Le Scouarnec denies raping the girls but admits “deviant behaviour” with them, according to his lawyer. He has been remanded in custody and is due to go on trial this winter.

During the rape investigation, which began in 2017, police raided his house and found his personal diary, in which he is alleged to have recounted sexual assaults on about 250 children admitted to hospitals where he practised.

Read more of this report from The Times (subscription required).

La rédaction de Mediapart

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