Members of a French surgeon’s family have described discovering the “Jekyll and Hyde” character of the man accused of raping or sexually assaulting 299 young patients while they were sedated or recovering from operations.
At his trial in the city of Vannes in Brittany, relatives of Joël Le Scouarnec spoke of his split personality.
“It’s Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde: we knew one but not the other,” said Le Scouarnec’s middle son. “I want to separate the man who we are judging from the father.”
On Wednesday, the third day of France’s biggest ever abuse trial, one of the surgeon’s cousins said she had been to see him in prison, where he is already serving a 15-year jail term for abusing four children. “I cannot believe you are entirely a paedophile, even if you are,” the woman, named only as Martine, said, adding: “I think there are two people.”
Le Scouarnec is on trial for the alleged abuse of young victims between 1989 and 2014. Of the alleged victims, 256 were under the age of 15; the youngest was a year old.
The court has heard of the omertà that seemed to exist in the Le Scouarnec family, where acts of incest and abuse were known about but not reported.
Earlier in the trial, the second of Le Scouarnec’s sons, now aged 42, told how he had been repeatedly abused by his paternal grandfather as a child aged five, nine and 10.
“I will have the images in my head all my life,” he said. “It happened several times, in the bedroom, at home, in the kitchen, in front of the television, sitting on his knee …”
The presiding judge, Aude Buresi, asked if he had confronted his grandfather or reported the abuse to the police. “No. I ask myself why every day. I even went to his funeral,” he said.
Le Scouarnec’s brother, Patrick, 70, addressed the court, saying the brothers had been close as children but Joël had had few friends and was “always solitary”. He told the court that Le Scouarnec’s former wife, Marie-France, must have known of the alleged abuse. “She was aware of her husband’s actions and she did nothing,” he said.
Marie-France has insisted she was not aware of his alleged abuse. However, a letter she wrote to a friend seven years before he was arrested by police and shown to the court on Tuesday, read: “I ask you to save my son, the only one who doesn’t know about his father’s past.”
On Wednesday, Marie-France later told the court she “suspected nothing”, saying: “There’s nothing to make me think this. Nothing, nothing, nothing … I never had any doubts.”
Le Scouarnec kept detailed handwritten notes documenting his alleged abuse, including victims’ names, addresses, dates and where the abuse happened. He was allowed to continue practising at hospitals in Brittany and the west of France despite a 2005 conviction for possessing child abuse images for which he was given a four-month suspended sentence.
In 2020, he was given a 15-year jail sentence after being convicted of assaulting four children.
On the opening day of his current trial, Le Scouarnec told the court he had done “hideous things”.
On Wednesday, several victims walked out of the room where the trial is being retransmitted – the court is too small for all to be present – after one of Le Scouarnec’s only friends dismissed the abuse allegations as “histoires de braguette”, akin to sexual “tittle-tattle”.
Judge Buresi denied a request for the hearing to be suspended, saying there were likely to be more difficult moments to come.
The trial is expected to last four months.
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In the UK, the NSPCC offers support to children on 0800 1111, and adults concerned about a child on 0808 800 5000. The National Association for People Abused in Childhood (Napac) offers support for adult survivors on 0808 801 0331. In the US, call or text the Childhelp abuse hotline on 800-422-4453. In Australia, children, young adults, parents and teachers can contact the Kids Helpline on 1800 55 1800, or Bravehearts on 1800 272 831, and adult survivors can contact Blue Knot Foundation on 1300 657 380. Other sources of help can be found at Child Helplines International
