French judicial authorities have opened a formal investigation into 40 additional sexual assaults and 10 rapes allegedly committed by Joël Le Scouarnec, the former surgeon sentenced in May 2025 to 20 years in prison for abusing nearly 300 patients, prosecutors announced Wednesday.
The new judicial inquiry follows a preliminary investigation launched in May 2025 after “the existence of new offenses appeared or was confirmed” during his trial in Vannes, according to Lorient prosecutor Laetitia Mirande. The prosecutor’s office also received “complementary complaints” from victims, she said in a statement.
Charges Span Three Decades and Involve 48 Victims
The charges concern 48 victims and date from 1987 to 2017, according to the prosecutor’s statement. The alleged offenses include “40 acts of sexual assault” and “10 acts of rape,” all involving minors under 15 or committed by a person abusing the authority conferred by their professional function.
The new judicial inquiry was ordered after the preliminary investigation concluded, with the prosecutor deciding to refer the case to an investigating judge. The charges are not time-barred under French law.
A Case Without Bottom
Le Scouarnec, 75, was convicted in late May 2025 by the Morbihan criminal court for rapes and sexual assaults committed between 1989 and 2014 on nearly 300 victims, most of them underage patients who were in a state of sedation at the time of the attacks.
“We know this case is a kind of bottomless pit,” said Manon Lemoine, spokesperson for the collective of Joël Le Scouarnec victims, in an interview with AFP. She criticized the justice system for “continuing to mistreat victims” by not alerting their lawyers to the new elements before communicating through the press.
Family Revelations and System Failures
During his trial in Vannes, the former surgeon also admitted to his eldest son that he had committed “sexual abuse” against the son’s daughter when she was approximately two years old.
Le Scouarnec’s arrest in 2017 followed a rape complaint involving a six-year-old neighbor in Jonzac, Charente-Maritime. The investigation led to the discovery of his private diaries on his computers, which listed numerous victims over decades.
His lawyers did not immediately respond to AFP requests for comment.
Minister to Meet Victims
French Justice Minister Gérald Darmanin is scheduled to meet with Le Scouarnec victims on Friday in Vannes, according to Lemoine. “We have been asking to meet him for a year,” she said, noting that the collective has already met with several ministers and parliamentarians “to work concretely on the failures and on what must change.”
The case has highlighted systemic failures in France’s medical and judicial systems, with Le Scouarnec having continued to practice medicine for years despite warnings and a prior conviction for possessing child sexual abuse images in 2005.
