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, who practiced in Liège, received the verdict at the Liège Court of Appeal, with one-third of the sentence being suspended. The abuse occurred in March and May 2021, as reported by the child, who disclosed being assaulted twice by the defendant. The boy mentioned one incident happening during a shared shower at the ex-doctor’s residence after a sports activity. Although the perpetrator denied the accusations, his reasons for being in the shower with the child were inconsistent. Medical examinations confirmed signs of sexual abuse, and a psychological evaluation identified the former GP as having a narcissistic personality.
In a previous trial, the defendant received a five-year sentence with two-thirds suspended. The prosecution had requested a six-year prison term due to the victim’s vulnerability, while the defendant’s legal team argued for an acquittal or a suspended sentence. This case emerges amidst a shocking child abuse scandal involving a French surgeon, Joel Le Scouarnec, who was found guilty of sexually assaulting hundreds of individuals, most of whom were underage patients. Le Scouarnec confessed to numerous rapes and sexual assaults, leading to a 20-year prison sentence. Police investigations uncovered electronic diaries detailing decades of abuse on young patients across medical facilities in western France. The surgeon’s victims included both male and female patients, with an average age of 11. Prosecutors highlighted the gravity of the charges, emphasizing that Le Scouarnec’s status as a respected medical professional enabled him to evade justice for an extended period.
Le Scouarnec meticulously documented his heinous acts in a diary, noting the names, ages, and types of abuse inflicted on his victims. Shockingly, on each birthday, he reportedly wrote in the journal: “I am a paedophile, and I am proud of it.”