Former surgeon admits committing ‘odious acts’ on children

Joel Le Scouarnec, now 74, sitting in courtroom and accused of raping or abusing 299 people. Picture: Valentin Pasquier/AP

A former surgeon has gone on trial in France for the alleged rape or sexual abuse of 299 victims, most of them children who were his patients.

Investigators and the surgeon own notebooks described his alleged actions as a pattern of violence spanning over three decades.