The maximum sentence – 20 years – provided for the offense of rape in France imposed on Joel Le whok, the doctor who was tried In the largest case of pedophilia in the country.
The man characterized by the French press as The worst and greatest pedophile ever acting in France, heard the verdict at the expense of cold and apathetic and black.
The trial of the French doctor from Brittany revealed her morbid, criminal action of but also the huge shortcomings and pathogens A system of social, welfare and health structures that ignored all signs that dozens of children were sexually abused in his hands.
74 -year -old Jeel Le whok was led to the dock after the rape of rape and sexual harassment of at least 300 children who had been patients in between 1989 and 2014while working in many western France hospitals.
As the authorities were investigating the case, they discovered a horrifying file in his home: hundreds of manuscripts diaries in which Lelimnek had recorded his attacks in detail, describing over 300 cases of abuse. Together they found childish Underwear, photos, and even sketches of his victims.
The revelation caused shock all over France. A man who worked for decades as a doctor, in contact with unsuspecting children, had managed to go unpunished despite repeated danger signals.
His wife, Marie-France, It has also been targeted. Now, its name is constantly referring to calls for prosecution of associates in child abuse crimes. Many consider unthinkable How he lived next to such a man without knowing – or, it seems, without choosing to be silent.
She herself, for her part, tries to appear as another victim. But testimonies and evidence show her as a woman who, out of fear, interest or indifference, never stood against the monster she called a husband. Perhaps the most tragic of all: the first one she suffered from her inactivity was her niece – the girl who gave the reason for the nightmare to start.
The League case has now become a reference point in France. A case that reveals not only the action of a sadist, but also the silence of an environment – family, professional and social – that has allowed its action for decades.
As the French judicial system is preparing for possible new prosecutions, many hope that the wife of a pedophile doctor will not remain on the sidelines of justice. Because in crimes of such magnitude, silence is complicity.
The trial and conviction
On Wednesday (28.05.2025), the French surgeon Joel Le whok was sentenced to 20 years in prison – the maximum possible time in accordance with French crime laws – for rape of dozens of children for three decades, after prosecutors.
Admitted at least 299 horrible crimes against victims who were mostly under 15 years old, with the youngest being just four!
Judge Aude Burési condemned Le who was judged after being judged guilty of 111 rape and 189 sexual attacks. His crimes took place between 1989 and 2014, while other alleged crimes were not prosecuted because they had happened very old.
During the three -month trial, the court heard how the doctor It mainly abused patients while still under anesthesia or waking up after surgery.
Thomas Delaby, a lawyer representing one of his victims, was the one who told Le Scourarnec: “You are the worst massive pedophile ever lived” and “an atomic pedophilia bomb. Your victims will never forgive you. “
Such words were certainly added to the anger and emotion of Le whok’s trial, but so did those of his wife, who eventually divorced him only in 2023.
Marie-France caused anger by attacking the victims, and also allegedly lying lies.
The most serious accusation against her was that she knew very well that she was married to a serial pedophile, but turned a blind eye.
The voices they seek to be prosecuted are now increasing for the help and incitement of a criminal.
The acquaintance
The Le who seemed to have the world on their feet. The 74-year-old Le who was “committed to becoming a surgeon from the age of ten,” as he used to say, and Marie-France was just as dedicated to patient care, he was a nurse.
They met at Hôtel-Dieu Hospital in the center of Paris.
After their wedding, they moved to the countryside around Nantes, on the west coast of France, to begin their married life.
He specialized in digestive surgery and soon had high demand in local hospitals and medical centers.
However, there were tensions in the couple’s relationship from day one – most were caused by abuse in their childhood years – The defense lawyers said in court.
Marie-France claimed to have been a victim of rape by two of her uncles, while Le Hlimnen said his father’s home in the suburbs of Paris was a home of illegal acts, even bloodthirsty.
After the wedding, Marie-France focused on the upbringing of their boys-Fabien, Florian and Renan-while at the same time having a busy social life.
The doctor admitted that he was already occupied by “dark impulses” at the time, and his niece, daughter of his sister’s wife, was “trigger”.
Told the researchers in recorded interviews: “My attraction for young children started with my niece, it must have been in 1985 or 1986. It was very affectionate, it was coming and sitting in my arms. My relationship with my wife was deteriorating. I conveyed my sexuality to this little girl. That was the trigger. “
The nephew – referring to the court under the pseudonym Nathalie – was soon abused by the pedophile doctor at her home, as the court heard.
The child was daughter of Sylvie – the sister of the wife of the child’s doctor – And it seemed that both women knew exactly what was going on.
Marie-France discovered in their home a closet full of children’s pornography magazines and children’s dolls used for sexual satisfaction, but did not report them to the authorities. Joel Le Hlimnen left home and started with a small bedroom where she was working in the local hospital.
“I didn’t see the meaning of divorce,” he said. “Given my situation, I was not going to start my life from the beginning.”
The 70 -year -old surgeon’s brother, Patrick Le Scouarnec, said his brother’s wife is a liar.
“There is another person who could ensure that my brother was arrested-he is his wife, Marie-France,” he said.
She also said that she “loved her husband’s salary”, but she preferred to sleep with other men, including family members. In turn, Marie-France constantly claimed that “I knew nothing”, despite the overwhelming evidence to the contrary.
“I was wondering how it was possible I had not realized anything,” he told the court.
“It is a terrible betrayal that has committed my children and my children.”
Her sister confirmed that this was not true, saying that Marie-France had said at some point: “But all men love little girls.”
He even called the niece abused by Le Scouarnec “a sly baby girl”, who was “hanging on the neck of Joel to blackmail him”.
Until 2000, Joel Le whoch’s sister, Annie, had also learned from one of her 10 -year -old daughters that she too had been a victim of sexual assault by her brother.
In December of 2020 The doctor was sentenced to 15 years for the sexual abuse of four girls: A 6 -year -old neighbor, a four -year -old patient and two of his own nieces, who were also four years old when abuse began.
In comments published and broadcast all over France, the victims demanded that his wife be prosecuted.
Marie-Caroline Arrighi, a four victims spokesman, said outside the court: “He knew. Marie-France Le Scouarnec knew and protected her husband. “
He added: “The complaint of sexual crimes and offenses against minors is a legal obligation.”
The pedophile doctor repeatedly reiterates that the woman with whom he shared his life for decades has ignored his crimes and will continue to do so.
It is a tactic that has increased suspicions about his wife, especially as he is now Only a member of the family who visits him in prison.
The settlement of her divorce in 2023 included the acquisition of the couple’s home, along with a generous pension of about 2,200 pounds a month and a proxy for their bank accounts.
When a prosecutor asked in court if that was ‘The price of silence’ For so many decades, while he could have been arrested, Le whocaek replied, “He was my wife.”
Information from DailyMail