A 74-year-old man in Belgium has been sentenced to five years in prison for sexually assaulting a young boy with Down’s syndrome. The retired GP, based in Liège, received the verdict at the Liège Court of Appeal, with one-third of the sentence suspended. The incidents occurred in March and May 2021, where the child reported being assaulted twice by the defendant, who maintained relationships with patients post-retirement and had a connection with the boy’s father.
One incident took place during a shared shower at the doctor’s residence after a sports activity, as stated by the child. The other occurrence was less detailed. Despite the doctor’s denial, inconsistencies were found in his explanations for being with the child in the shower. Physical evidence of abuse was detected in a medical examination, and a psychological evaluation depicted the former GP as having a narcissistic personality.
In a previous trial in September, the defendant was sentenced to five years with two-thirds suspended. The prosecution had requested a six-year imprisonment due to the child’s vulnerability, while the doctor’s defense team sought acquittal or a suspended sentence.
This case comes in the wake of a troubling instance of medical child abuse in France involving Joel Le Scouarnec, a 74-year-old paedophile surgeon who was convicted of sexually assaulting numerous individuals, predominantly underage patients, over an extended period. Le Scouarnec admitted to 111 rapes and 188 sexual assaults, receiving a maximum 20-year prison sentence. Police uncovered electronic diaries detailing decades of abuse in hospitals and medical facilities across western France, involving 158 males and 141 females, with an average age of 11. The severity of the charges was heightened due to his respected position as a medical professional, which authorities believed enabled him to evade justice for an extended period.
Le Scouarnec maintained detailed records documenting the names, ages, and types of abuse inflicted on patients. Allegedly, he wrote in his journal on each birthday: “I am a paedophile, and I am proud of it.”
