A French former surgeon who confessed to hundreds of cases of child abuse has been sentenced to the maximum prison term of twenty years. The public prosecutor demanded the same against the 74-year-old man last week.
The convicted Joël Le S. previously confessed to the assault and rape of 299 patients. The majority were then younger than fifteen years old. Of all abuse charges, 111 involved rape. The abuse took place between 1989 and 2014.
The former surgeon also considers himself responsible for the subsequent death of two victims who died by suicide and an overdose, reports Le Monde. Le S. said earlier in court that he deserved no leniency. Due to his emotionless way of confessing guilt and expressing remorse, there are doubts about his sincerity.
Since the beginning of the trial, on February 24, the convicted man stated that he remembered little of his crimes. In March, he confessed to all charges and even confessed to assaults that were not yet known. The public prosecutor said on Friday that an additional case will likely be started due to these new abuse cases.
In the home of the former surgeon, about 300,000 images of child abuse were found. In addition, there were diaries in which he had recorded the abuse of children and animals. In it he wrote that he was “very happy” to be a “pedophile”.
The doctor abused most of his victims while practicing his profession. The abuse often took place after the young victim was put under anesthesia. The average age of the victims was eleven years.
Le S. was already sentenced in 2005 to a suspended prison sentence for possessing images depicting child abuse. After that, he was able to continue raping and abusing children undisturbed, according to the judiciary.