Surgeon Accused of Rape, Sexual Abuse on Hundreds of Minor Patients Kept Notebook Detailing His Actions

Evidence files in the courtroom of the Criminal Court in Vannes, on February 24, 2025, the opening day of retired surgeon Joel Le Scouarnec's four-month trial on charges of assaulting or raping 299 patients. Le Scouarnec [appearing in the overlaid court sketch] filled notebooks with accounts of abuse inflicted on his patients and others, most of whom were minors. (Credit: Damien Meyer; Benoit Peyrucq/Getty Images)

A former surgeon in France is accused of raping or sexually abusing 299 victims, mainly his pediatric patients, and detailing the abuse in journals over three decades.

Joël Le Scouarnec, 74, will begin trial in Vannes, Brittany, on Monday, NPR reported. Hundreds of victims are prepared to testify in what is expected to be a four-month trial. Le Scouarnec is already imprisoned, serving 15 years for a 2020 case where he was found guilty of raping and sexually assaulting four children, including two of his nieces.