The numbers involved in France’s largest child abuse trial are staggering: 299 alleged victims, sexually abused in 10 hospitals and clinics over 25 years – all by one doctor, prosecutors say.

A former surgeon accused of abusing 299 young patients has accepted responsibility for the "vast majority" of the charges he faces as his trial begins, per reports.

This courtroom sketch by Valentin Pasquier shows Joel Le Scouarnec, now 74, sitting in courtroom and accused of raping or abusing 299 people, mostly child patients, at the Vannes courthouse, western France, on the opening day of his trial, Monday, Feb. 24, 2025. (Valentin Pasquier via AP)

Months after the Gisèle Pelicot case rocked France, Le Scouarnec is accused of raping or abusing 299 victims, most of them young children at the time. View on euronews

A French former surgeon accused of abusing hundreds of patients, most of them children, has told a court that he admits to having "committed despicable acts" and "understands and shares the suffering" caused to his alleged victims.

A former surgeon is accused of raping or sexually abusing 299 victims, mainly his pediatric patients, and detailing over 30 years of the abuse in journals.

A former French surgeon went on trial Monday charged with raping or sexually assaulting almost 300 patients, most of them children at the time, in one of the country's largest

A retired French surgeon accused of sexually abusing nearly 300 patients, mostly children, has admitted to committing ‘heinous acts’. Joël Le Scouarnec, 74, appeared in the dock in the city of Vannes today,