A former French surgeon, who is on trial for allegedly raping and sexually assaulting almost 300 patients, said he had committed hideous acts on children which cannot be “erased or healed.” He confessed in court on Monday.

“I’ve done hideous things,” AFP quoted Joel Le Scouarnec as saying on the opening day of his trial.

The 74-year-old surgeon further confessed that he was “perfectly aware that these wounds cannot be erased or healed” and that he was ready to “take responsibility” for his actions.

“I am aware that these injuries are irreparable,” he said. “I cannot go back in time but I owe it to all of these people and their loved ones to take responsibility for my actions.”

The former surgeon is facing up to 20 years in prison if convicted, on top of the 15 years he has been serving after being found guilty in 2020 of rape and sexual assault of children.

3 lakh pedophilic photos, videos: What’s the Le Scouarnec case

The Le Scouarnec case began in 2017 when a 6-year-old neighbour said the doctor had touched her over the fence separating their properties.

A search of his home uncovered more than 300,000 photos, 650 pedophilic, zoophilic and scatological video files, as well as notebooks where he described himself as a paedophile and detailed his actions, according to investigation documents.

In 2020, Le Scouarnec was convicted of rape and sexual assault of four children, including two nieces, and was sentenced to 15 years in prison.

He has admitted to child abuse dating to 1985-1986, but some cases could not be prosecuted because the statute of limitations has expired.

Most survivors have no memory of the rape

Notably, some of the survivors in the case have no memory of the assaults as they were unconscious at the time.

One of the male survivors, who is now in his 30s testified that he was assaulted during a consultation in 1995, when he was a young boy.

“I remember certain things in the recovery room. I was in total panic. I called my dad,” he told the court.

The four-month trial in Vannes will examine alleged rapes and other abuses committed between 1989 and 2014 against 158 men and 141 women who were aged 11 on average at the time.

The doctor sexually abused both boys and girls when they were alone in their hospital rooms, according to investigation documents.

(With inputs from AFP)