Hello and welcome to the details of ‘False words’: Victims of French surgeon reject apology, accuse him of playing ‘staring games’ in court and now with the details
Nevin Al Sukari - Sana'a - VANNES (France), May 9 — Ever since the start of one of France’s largest child sex abuse trials, victims of a French paedophile surgeon have said they just want him to acknowledge their suffering and sincerely ask them for forgiveness.
But instead, a blank-faced Joel Le Scouarnec has used the courtroom in the western city of Vannes as a “stage for his perversion”, playing “staring games” with former child patients, several told AFP.
Le Scouarnec, 74, went on trial in February accused of 111 rapes and 189 sexual assaults at a dozen hospitals in western France.
He has admitted to all charges and asked his victims for forgiveness.
But they say they do not believe him, saying that his words sound hollow.
In court, Le Scouarnec has remained calm and motionless. Some of his victims find his poker face deeply unsettling, saying that his words do not align with his body language.
“In the dock, Le Scouarnec showed no sign of regret,” said Manon Lemoine, 35.
“He held my gaze for a long time. If he were a normal person, he would have looked down, felt bad. It was as if it didn’t affect him... or as if he was up for a challenge,” said Lemoine, who Le Scouarnec is charged with raping when she was 11.
Lemoine said she spoke to other victims who also felt that Le Scouarnec was playing games.
“He was playing staring games with us, seeing who could hold his gaze the longest. And it was quite chilling,” she said.
“I felt like I was in a tunnel — nothing else existed, just this tunnel with him and his gaze, completely devoid of emotion. There was nothing visible in him except this desire to challenge us.”
Lemoine said Le Scouarnec’s behaviour and posture “contradict the sincerity of his words”.
‘Sounded false’
The majority of Le Scouarnec’s victims were children whom he is believed to have abused while they were waking up from anaesthetic or during post-operation checkups, at a dozen hospitals between 1989 and 2014. The surgeon was never investigated during his career.
Under French law, rape is “any act of sexual penetration, of whatever nature, or any oral-genital act committed on another person or on the person of the perpetrator through violence, coercion, threat or surprise”.
Le Scouarnec is already in jail, having been found guilty in 2020 of abusing four children, including two of his nieces.
Gabriel Trouve, 34, said he felt like Le Scouarnec wanted to manipulate his victims in court.
“I now see his strategy, the system at play, and how he ultimately uses the courtroom as yet another stage for his perversion. That, to me, is horrifying,” he said.
“Even when he says, ‘I’m sorry, it was abhorrent,’ I still sense a form of perversion at work.”
Trouve also denounced “the discrepancy” between the accused’s words and behaviour.
Emmanuelle Martin, 36, said she does not believe in the sincerity of Le Scouarnec’s apologies, accusing him of trying to make her “suffer again” in court.
“He read the text he had written about me twice, repeating the word ‘rape’ several times,” she said.
“He offered his usual apologies,” she said. “But it sounded false.”
‘Time to look in the eye’
Nicolas Gourlet, who was sexually assaulted at the age of 13, said it felt like the accused was hiding behind a wall.
“It’s time he looked his victims in the eye and acknowledged their presence,” he said.
His mother, Francoise Gourlet, said she also doubted the retired doctor was sincere.
“I don’t know whether he’s truly sincere or simply there because he has to be,” she said.
Le Scouarnec himself said he understood that his apologies were “repetitive”, but this is “because there are so many, too many victims”.
He said that he “needs” to apologise, even when his apologies may sound unbearable for his victims.
Le Scouarnec’s lawyer said the victims’ distress was understandable but insisted that their views were “biased”.
“Mr Le Scouarnec is not trying to act,” Maxime Tessier told AFP. “He is seeking reconciliation and wants to express his regret to the victims.”
He said his client was “exhausted” by the trial.
Tessier said that no matter how hard his client tried, Le Scouarnec “will always lose in the eyes of certain people. And that’s not fair, that’s not justice.”
In court, the victims often huddle together, supporting each other.
Sometimes at the end of the hearings, they gather to dissect Le Scouarnec’s words and behaviour.
Trouve said he struggled to believe in Le Scouarnec’s “redemption arc”.
“This is not the behaviour of someone who is making amends,” he said. — AFP
* If you are experiencing sexual violence, the following hotlines offer free and confidential support: Talian Kasih at 15999 or WhatsApp 019-2615999 (24/7); All Women’s Action Society at 016-2374221/016-2284221 (9.30am-5.30pm); and Women’s Aid Organisation (WAO) at 03-30008858 or SMS/WhatsApp TINA 018-9888058 (24/7)
* If you suspect child abuse, call the following hotlines for free and confidential support: Talian Kasih at 15999 or WhatsApp 019-2615999 (24/7); Talian BuddyBear at 1800-18-2327(BEAR) (noon-midnight daily); and One Crisis Centre (24/7) Wilayah Persekutuan at 03-26155555
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