Joel Le Scouarnec, 74, has been charged with sexual crimes against 299 victims in French hospitals, while his ex-wife Marie-France Le Scouarnec denies any involvement.
The ex-wife of a surgeon accused of multiple child rapes has called them “liars”, including her niece, whom she described as “devious”.
Joël Le Scouarnec faces charges of sexually assaulting 299 victims, with an average age of 11. He has appeared before the Morbihan Criminal Court in the Breton town of Vannes, where shocking details of his alleged crimes against 158 men and 141 women are emerging.
Children were reportedly attacked in hospitals and other medical facilities across France, with the youngest victim being just one year old. Under cross-examination on Wednesday night, his wife Marie-France Le Scouarnec, 71, denied knowledge of his criminal activities.
She also accused some of her nieces of “lying” about the crimes committed against them. She noted of one: “When she was little, she was always close to my husband. She was a cunning girl.”
She refused to look at photographs taken by her husband, including one in which her niece was naked and asleep. Chief prosecutor Stefan Kellenberger said “she should face the truth.”
Madame Le Scouarnec told him: “I want to sleep at night. It's so absurd. It's impossible to imagine that my husband could do all this. If I had known, I would have gone to the police immediately.”
When asked if she expressed any sympathy for the victims, she did not answer, but instead mentioned that she herself was a victim of rape as a child and was also abused by a man in 2013. Le Scouarnec showed no emotion when his ex-wife said: “I think he should stay in prison after everything he has done.”
The couple separated in 2017 after Le Scouarnec was arrested and charged, and their divorce was finalized last year. Earlier on Wednesday, it was reported that Madame Le Scouarnec covered up her husband's crimes because “she liked his salary” and spent her days meeting lovers and attending water aerobics.
Patrick Le Scouarnec, the defendant's 70-year-old brother, told the court she had lied, saying: “She knew about her husband's actions but she did nothing… I wonder if she loved him for his money or for love. To be honest, I think mainly for his salary.”
In December 2020, Le Scouarnec was sentenced to 15 years for sexually abusing four girls, including a six-year-old neighbor, a four-year-old patient, and his two nieces, who were also four years old when the abuse began. Le Scouarnec faces another 20-year sentence if convicted again.
Le Scouarnec is alleged to have kept detailed diaries recording names, ages and types of abuse he committed over more than a quarter of a century. His own notes form the basis of the case against him, as the sexual predator is already serving a 15-year sentence after being found guilty of crimes against four children in 2020.
The diaries reveal a horrific boast on his birthday every year. After recording his age, he wrote: “I am a paedophile and I am proud of it.”
The trial is ongoing and is expected to conclude in June.
Sourse: www.mirror.co.uk
