A French Surgeon, Dr Joel Le Scouarnec charged with the rape and sexual assault of four minors, may have molested close to 200 children, the prosecutors office said Monday in a case that could eventually turn out to be France's biggest paedophile case in modern day history.
68-year-old Scouarnec who for three decades practised in hospitals across central and western France, will go on trial in March for the rape of a neighbour's daughter, sexual assault and indecent exposure.
Prosecutors say the first allegation dates back to 2017, when the parents of a six-year-old girl living in the southwestern town of Jonzac accused him of raping her. He's also accused of raping a young relative, sexually assaulting another young relative and abusing a young patient.
The second set of accusations comes after police found a diary in his house where he recorded sexually explicit details of his assaults and escapades with about 250 minors. In the diary he wrote down the names of the minors which helped police track down the victims and get their testimony.
Scouarnec's lawyers claim the stories are mere fantasies but 184 people, 181 of whom were minors at the time of the alleged assaults, have filed formal complaints against him, in what could potentially be France's biggest case of paedophilia. Police also found child pornography and sex toys in his house.
"They remember perfectly well what they endured but never talked about it because they were afraid," Francesca Satta, a lawyer for some of the former surgeon's alleged victims, told AFP.
Scouarnec faces up to 20 years imprisonment if convicted on the first set of charges.
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