VANNES: A French surgeon who abused hundreds of patients over two decades, most of them minors, said on Monday he was asking for no “leniency” as his three-month trial nears a verdict.

Joel Le Scouarnec, 74, has admitted sexually assaulting or raping 299 patients, 256 of them under 15 in hospitals in western France between 1989 and 2014, many while they were under anaesthesia or waking up after operations.

The prosecution requested the maximum 20-year sentence for the former surgeon last week and also made the rare demand that he should be held in a centre for treatment and supervision even after any release.

“I am not asking the court for leniency,” Le Scouarnec said in his closing statement. “Simply grant me the right to become a better person,” he added.

The verdict from the court in Vannes, in Brit­tany region, is expected on Wednesday.

Published in Dawn, May 27th, 2025