Looming Discharge of Joël Le Scouarnec Sparks Concern Among His Victims: Despite a 20-year Prison Sentence, Some Fear His Potential Release by 2030
After three months of trial,Joel Le Scouarnec, a 74-year-old former surgeon, received a 20-year prison sentence from the criminal court of Morbihan. The septuagenarian, who admitted to 111 rapes and 188 sexual assaults on 299 mostly minor victims between 1989 and 2014, was given a sentence with a two-thirds security period, the maximum allowable for his age.
Lawyer Frédéric Benoist, from the association La Voix de l'enfant, stated that while the sentence was expected given the number of acts, it was "lenient and frustrating" in light of the scale of the criminal career.
The 20-year sentence is not cumulative with Le Scouarnec's previous conviction of 15 years in prison for sexual violence against four children in 2020, a result of the "principle of the confusion of penalties" in French law. Ludivine Richefeu, a professor of private and criminal law, explained this principle, stating that when several convictions are handed down in the same procedure, a single penalty applies to all acts, as per French law.
In their motivations, read at the time of the verdict on Wednesday, the criminal court recognized that Le Scouarnec was the legislator's worst nightmare in matters of serial sexual violence. To address this issue, Senator Socialist Laurence Rossignol deposited a bill in May 2024 aimed to increase the maximum sentence to 30 years in prison for cases of cumulative aggravating circumstances in matters of rape.
The victims, many of whom wanted preventive detention for Le Scouarnec, were disappointed and angry with the five professional judges' decision. The court did not retain this exceptional measure, which would have placed Le Scouarnec in a closed medical-social center after serving his sentence.
Le Scouarnec must serve two-thirds of his sentence, bringing him to May 2030, according to lawyer Giovanni Bertho-Briand, who represents the civil party. In fifteen years, the former pediatric surgeon may be freed, but only under strict supervision, having been sentenced to a severe 15-year socio-judicial control. The control involves regular, mandatory meetings with a judge and adherence to numerous conditions to prevent recidivism.
The new preliminary investigation opened at the end of March to identify potential other victims is ongoing. Lawyer Frédéric Benoist believes that the judicial system must rectify mistakes made in 2005 when Le Scouarnec was sentenced for possessing pedopornographic images without treatment or a ban on practicing. He emphasized that the system cannot afford mistakes to protect future potential victims.
[1] Background information: The French government and medical council have vowed to implement reforms to prevent similar cases, but these efforts are focused on protecting children and patients rather than specifically increasing prison sentences. Advocacy groups in France have been calling for legislative reform to increase penalties for serial rapists, with no reported recent changes to the law yet. However, there has been debate regarding increasing sentences for serial rapists to better address the gravity of their actions and protect the public.
- The French government and medical council have pledged to enact reforms to prevent similar cases, focusing on protecting children and patients, but no reported changes have been made yet to increase penalties for serial rapists.
- Despite the 20-year prison sentence given to Joel Le Scouarnec, a former surgeon who admitted to multiple rapes and sexual assaults, some advocacy groups in France are calling for legislative reform to increase penalties for serial rapists, such as Senator Socialist Laurence Rossignol, who deposited a bill in May 2024 to increase the maximum sentence to 30 years in prison for cases with cumulative aggravating circumstances.
- In their statement, lawyer Frédéric Benoist believes that the judicial system must rectify mistakes made in 2005 when Le Scouarnec was sentenced for possessing pedopornographic images without treatment or a ban on practicing, as these errors could have potential consequences on future potential victims.
- Apart from criminal cases, the importance of mental health, sexual health, and general wellness is highlighted in various areas of science and health-and-wellness news, as people's well-being is closely intertwined with their general health and their experiences with medical-conditions, including the impact of traumatic experiences such as sexual assault.
