TRANSCRIPT:
"You were the devil and he sometimes is dressed in a white coat."
Those were the words of police prosecutor Stephane Kellenberger to the man now named among the most notorious paedophiles in French history: surgeon Joel Le Scouarnec.
Le Scouarnec raped and assaulted hundreds of mostly children in his care - including patients who were unconscious - victims he has said he did not think of as people.
Judge Aude Buresi's voice broke as she sentenced the 74 year-old to 20 years behind bars for his crimes, saying he preyed on victims at their most vulnerable.
"Your acts were a blind spot in the medical world, to the extent that your colleagues, the medical authorities, were incapable of stopping your actions."
This trial was run in Brittany, with the small town playing host to a litany of horror stories over a gruelling three months.
Sordid details were laid bare, including a collection of sex dolls, wigs and child exploitation material found in the 74 year-old's possession.
Louise Marie - one of his victim-survivors - says he is relieved the ordeal is over.
"That was a great relief (to testify). This trial was quite an evolution, with the first two weeks being terrible, getting to grips with this man's perversion, which was astounding. Then there was the testimony stage. That was also an ordeal, but in hindsight, it felt very good. It was like shedding some of the burden and taking a few stones off my back. I think many of us felt that way."
France's most prolific paedophile to face court did not ask for leniency.
But a spokesperson for Le Scouarnec victims' collective, Manon Lemoine, says the system granted it anyway.
"Preventive detention is only for exceptional reasons. But isn't this case exceptional enough? 299 (victims). The law against sexual violence in France was not designed with reason in mind. We will fight. We were waiting for this trial, to speak our words, to cite the unspeakable, to look at the truth- often perversion- in the eye, to try to understand. The court listened to us. It gave us back a face, a voice. The light was born between us."
Le Scouarnec has served seven years of this sentence already and will potentially be eligible for parole in 2030.
An anonymous victim-survivor says she is disappointed that will be the potential outcome.
“It bothers me that one day he'll be able to walk down the street, see people again and have a normal life. We don't have a normal life anymore, we haven't had a normal life for all this time and they're giving him back this right and that upsets me. I'm really very angry.”
Amelia Leveque was operated on by the surgeon in 1991.
She says she has lost faith in the justice system.
"So today, we sentenced a man who raped 300 people and who is serving the same sentence as if he had raped just one person. So there are really things that need to change, and this serial aspect really needs to be taken into account and at least 10 years added, or even more. So, ultimately, for me today, I feel like it was for nothing. That's quite disappointing."
This is not Le Scouarnec's first conviction.
In 2020 he was sentenced to 15 years in prison for the raping of his six year old neighbour, his two nieces and a four year-old patient.
It was the attack against the six year old that led police to discover evidence of abuse of hundreds more children.
Diaries appeared to reveal accounts of more than 20 years' of sexual assaults on patients in various French hospitals, leading to Le Scouarnec being re-arrested in 2017.
Lawyer Francesca Satta represents some of the paedophile surgeon's victims.
"I don't believe at all that Joel Le Scouarnec today is someone who has recovered from his problem as a paedo-criminal. I regret that we do not actually have a targeted way of dealing with paedo-criminals, so that there is real management of this problem, in both a prison environment, but at the same time in a (health) care environment, which I think are lacking today in France."
The surgeon has admitted his guilt.
His defence counsel - Maxime Tessier - says he will not appeal this conviction.
"Mr. Le Scouarnec never intended to appeal. He never intended to appeal, firstly because he never pursued a utilitarian approach. At no time did he confess to improve his criminal fate. He said so during these three months of hearings."
This may not be the last opportunity for victim-survivors to take Le Scouarnec to trial.
Prosecutors say there may be another trial on behalf of those whose victimisation was not included in this case.
There are also ongoing investigations into whether agencies, including public hospitals, could have prevented the abuse.
Catherine, a mother of one the victim-survivors, says this is a crucial first step.
"I see this as a mother. All I hope is that this man can't do it again. I have grandchildren. It's important to me that this stops and that, at the national level, at the institutional level, at all levels, there is a real awareness that our children are in danger. I really want to see this change."
For anyone impacted by the issues presented in this story, resources are available:
In Australia, you can call BRAVEHEARTS, a sexual assault support service, on 1-800 272 831.
Or crisis intervention and support service, Lifeline on 13 11 14.
