A 74-year-old retired doctor in Belgium has been sentenced to five years in prison for sexually abusing a young boy with Down’s syndrome. The sentence includes a one-third suspension, handed down by the Liège Court of Appeal on Tuesday following an earlier trial.
The abuse occurred in March and May 2021. The child told investigators that he had been raped twice by the former GP, who continued seeing patients after retirement and had a long-standing friendship with the boy’s father. One assault reportedly took place during a shared shower at the doctor’s home after a sports session, while the other could not be precisely described.
The doctor denied the allegations, but his explanations were inconsistent. A medical examination confirmed signs of sexual abuse, and a psychological report described him as having a narcissistic personality.
In a previous trial in September, he was sentenced to five years, with two-thirds suspended. The prosecution had requested a six-year sentence, citing the child’s vulnerability, while the defense argued for acquittal or a fully suspended sentence.
This case comes amid another shocking medical child abuse scandal in France. In May, Joel Le Scouarnec, a 74-year-old surgeon, was convicted of sexually abusing hundreds of victims—most of them underage patients—over several decades. Le Scouarnec had previously been jailed in 2020 for abusing a child neighbour, two nieces, and a four-year-old patient.
During investigations, authorities found electronic diaries documenting decades of abuse in hospitals and medical centers across western France. His victims included 158 boys and 141 girls, with an average age of 11. Prosecutors said his respected status as a doctor allowed him to evade punishment for so long. Le Scouarnec allegedly recorded his abuses in a diary, writing each year on his birthday: “I am a paedophile, and I am proud of it.”
