Lawyer of sex abuse surgeon in France dies in apparent suicide
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Lawyer Maxime Tessier represented Joel Le Scouarnec, who sexually assaulted or raped patients, many of them children.
PHOTO: AFP
- Maxime Tessier, 34, a lawyer for convicted sex offender Joel Le Scouarnec, has died in an apparent suicide, according to Rennes' chief prosecutor.
- Tessier defended Le Scouarnec, 74, a former surgeon sentenced to 20 years for sexually abusing and raping patients, calling attention to systemic failures.
- Tessier's associate, Ms Glon, noted his high regard for justice and demanding nature; investigations are underway into his death, with support lines available.
AI generated
RENNES, France – A lawyer for Joel Le Scouarnec, a French surgeon who sexually abused and raped patients over decades, has died in an apparent suicide, a prosecutor said on July 9.
Mr Maxime Tessier, 34, defended Le Scouarnec, 74, who confessed at his trial to sexually assaulting or raping 298 patients between 1989 and 2014, many of them children.
A French court sentenced Le Scouarnec to 20 years in prison in May.
“Everything points to suicide,” Mr Frederic Teillet, chief prosecutor in the western French city of Rennes, said of the lawyer’s death, adding that an investigation had started.
Mr Tessier, a father of two young children, “had a very high regard for justice and was therefore very demanding towards himself”, said Ms Catherine Glon, his associate.
He was one of two lawyers defending Le Scouarnec, one of the most infamous sex predators in French criminal history.
Child rights advocates say the case had highlighted systemic failures that allowed Le Scouarnec to repeatedly commit sexual crimes.
A prosecutor in the case called the former doctor “the devil... dressed in a white coat”.
He abused many victims while they were under anaesthesia or waking up after operations. AFP
A February 2025 photo showing retired surgeon Joel Le Scouarnec (right) arriving for a court hearing.
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