Lawyer who defended depraved surgeon dubbed France's worst paedophile 'kills himself' weeks after his 'devil in a white coat' client was jailed for raping 298 patients
Maxime Tessier, 34, represented the disgraced Joel Le Scouarnec, 74, who confessed at his trial to sexually assaulting or raping 298 patients between 1989 and 2014, many of them children.
Everything points to suicide,' Frederic Teillet, chief prosecutor in the western French city of Rennes, said of the lawyer's death, adding that an investigation had been opened.
Tessier, a father of two young children, 'had a very high regard for justice and was therefore very demanding towards himself', said Catherine Glon, his associate.
'We are obviously in shock', she added.
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.
A French court sentenced Le Scouarnec to 20 years in prison in May.
His offences took place between 1989 and 2014, while other alleged crimes were not prosecute because they happened too long ago.
During a three-month trial held in Vannes, the court heard how Le Scourarnec mainly abused patients while they were still under anaesthetic or slowly waking up following operations.
Thomas Delaby, a barrister representing one of his victims, told Le Scourarnec he is 'the worst mass paedophile who ever lived' and 'an atomic bomb of paedophilia. Your victims will never forgive you'.
Speaking just before the verdict, Le Scourarnec said: 'I'm not asking the court for leniency. Simply grant me the right to become a better person.'
The defendant also explained how he had caused the the deaths of at least two of his victims.
Le Scouarnec said: 'I am responsible for the deaths of Mathis Vinet, who died after an overdose in 2021' and Alan Roux, who was found hanged at his home in 2020.
Lawyer Tessier, asked the court at the time to take into account the 'exceptional' nature of the surgeon's confession.
In turn, prosecutors who had heard Le Scouarnec described as 'France's worst ever paedophile' said he was 'a devil' and there was 'a very high risk' of him re-offending if ever allowed out of his cell.
Stéphane Kellenberger, the Attorney General, said his proven crimes were committed against 158 males and 141 females, with an average age of 11.
Le Scouarnec had also kept a record of his crimes, documenting the victims' names, ages, addresses and the nature of the abuse.
In his notes, the doctor described himself as a 'major pervert' and a 'paedophile'.
'And I am very happy about it,' he recorded.
People demonstrated with posters reading 'No excuse for abuses', left, and 'How many more?', right, ahead of the verdict in the trial of Joel Le Scouarnec
The graphic details allowed the police to track down his victims as most had no memory of the abuse as they were still unconscious.
The verdict said the jury came to their decision after taking 'into account that the acts committed are of particular gravity due to the number of victims, their young age and the compulsive nature' of the crimes.
Requesting a 'maximum possible sentence of twenty years' for Le Scouarnec, Mr Kellenberger said there needed to be 'additional security measures,' because of the danger Le Scourarnec still posed.
The surgeon practised for decades until his retirement in 2017, despite a 2005 sentence for owning sexually abusive images of children.
His wife, Marie-France Le Scouarnec, was also portrayed as a ruthless accomplice, while denying any wrongdoing.
She spent her days taking lovers and going to aqua-aerobics, while her once highly respected surgeon husband repeatedly attacked children, it was alleged.
Ms Le Scouarnec, the mother of his three sons, lived with him throughout that time, and has always denied knowing what he was doing.
His wife, Marie-France Le Scouarnec, was also portrayed as a ruthless accomplice, while denying any wrongdoing
But Patrick Le Scouarnec, the 70-year-old brother of the defendant, told the court that she was being untruthful.
'There is another person who could have ensured that my brother was arrested – it is his wife, Marie-France,' said Mr Le Scouarnec.
Victims of Le Scouarnec have also accused Ms Le Scouarnec of covering up his 'paedocriminal activities' for decades.
Ms Le Scouarnec said: 'I wondered how I could have not noticed anything. It's a terrible betrayal that he committed against me and my children.'
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