Le Scouarnec case. The ex-surgeon back in front of the assizes

What offenses or crimes will the 70-year-old ex-surgeon, Joël Le Scouarnec recognize? From Monday, November 30, the man is back, in Saintes, in front of the Charente-Maritime assizes which judge him for rape and sexual assault, committed in particular between 1989 and 1999, on four minors: two nieces, today thirties; a patient at the hospital in Loches (Indre-et-Loire) who was only 4 years old in 1993 and her 6-year-old neighbor, when Joël Le Scouarnec lived in Jonzac. It was she, with her childish words, who had denounced him in April 2017.

Started on March 13, the trial was immediately interrupted due to confinement. Unless surprised, it should resume behind closed doors at the request of certain civil parties.

The Assize Court will try to determine what committed this ex-practitioner, a specialist in digestive surgery. If he recognizes touching, he indeed disputes any digital penetration. “Joel Le Scouarnec has always denied the facts of rape. It is time for him to confess so that the victims can rebuild themselves ”, insists Me Francesca Satta, the lawyer for the parents of the girl, who were neighbors of the accused.

What did his wife know?

But throughout this trial, another extraordinary case will inevitably permeate the debates. That of the 312 victims that this surgeon is suspected of having assaulted or raped throughout his career professional, in the different hospitals where he worked: in Morbihan, Finistère, Orne, Loire-Atlantique, Vendée, Mayenne, Indre-et-Loire… Most of the victims, young patients of the surgeon, were identified through the use of a diary he kept for more than twenty-five years. In this second part, the investigation is in progress: Joël Le Scouarnec was indicted, in Lorient, in October.

But beyond the character, the Assize Court will also try to determine what the entourage knew of the surgeon. A year ago, in an interview with Telegram, his ex-wife said: “I lived by his side. And I didn’t suspect a thing. “ However, according to the investigation, this woman would have confessed to her sister that her husband had an attraction for little girls, in 1997. She is summoned to appear during the trial in Saintes. Will she come? In March, she provided a medical certificate not to testify at the bar …

– .