The French prosecutor is demanding the maximum sentence of twenty years in prison for a former surgeon accused of hundreds of cases of child abuse. The 74-year-old defendant has previously admitted to abusing 299 children between 1989 and 2014.
Defendant Joël Le S. previously requested extra security measures because he fears he will err again. The public prosecutor therefore requested additional measures in case he is released, writes Le Parisien. The verdict is on May 28.
Since the start of the trial on February 24, the defendant 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 is likely to be started because of these new abuse cases.
The doctor abused most of his victims while practicing his profession. The abuse often took place after the young victim had been anesthetized. The average age of the victims was eleven years.
Le S. was already sentenced to a suspended prison sentence in 2005 for possession of child pornography. After that, he was able to continue raping and abusing children undisturbed, the judiciary now states. 111 of the 299 abuse charges involve rape.