A 74-year-old man from 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 his sentence at the Liège Court of Appeal, with one-third of the term suspended, after a trial.
The abuse incidents occurred in March and May 2021, as reported in court. The victim, a child, disclosed that he was assaulted twice by the perpetrator. The defendant, who continued to see patients post-retirement and had a close relationship with the boy’s father, allegedly committed the assaults. One incident happened during a shared shower session at the doctor’s residence after a sports activity, while the details of the other incident were less clear, according to The Brussels Times.
Despite denying the allegations, the doctor’s explanations for being in the shower with the child were inconsistent. Physical evidence of sexual abuse was found during a medical examination, and a psychological evaluation labeled the former GP as having a narcissistic personality.
In a previous trial in September, the defendant was initially handed a five-year sentence, with two-thirds of it suspended. Prosecutors had sought a six-year term due to the victim’s vulnerability, while the defendant’s legal team argued for an acquittal or a suspended sentence.
This case emerges in the context of a concerning child abuse situation in France, where a 74-year-old surgeon, Joel Le Scouarnec, was recently convicted of sexually assaulting numerous individuals, primarily underage patients, over an extended period. Le Scouarnec admitted to multiple rapes and sexual assaults, leading to a 20-year prison sentence. Police uncovered electronic records detailing decades of abuse across medical facilities in western France, involving a large number of victims, both male and female, with an average age of 11. Prosecutors highlighted the aggravating factor of his respected medical status enabling him to evade justice for an extended period.
The surgeon maintained detailed records of his criminal acts in a diary, including names, ages, and descriptions of the abuses inflicted on patients. Shockingly, he allegedly celebrated his birthday each year by writing, “I am a paedophile, and I am proud of it,” in his journal.
