A retired surgeon who has been accused of raping or sexually abusing up to 349 children has gone on trial in France.
Joel Le Scouarne went on trial, in Saintes, western France, on Friday for the alleged rape and abuse of four children between 1989 and 2017.
But the case is only the first of hundreds of complaints against Le Scouarnec to come to court. Most of the former surgeon's alleged victims were his patients.
Le Scouarnec was first arrested in 2017, when a girl who lived next door told her mother he had molested her and exposed himself through a fence.
When police started investigating, they discovered thousands of images of child pornography, as well as notebooks where Le Scouarnec detailed his alleged crimes.
Le Scouarnec told police he "acted out" with children but denies full penetration. He said that what he wrote in the notebooks were fantasies.
Many of the allegations against Le Scouarnec are for incidents that would have taken place too long ago to prosecute, according to the Associated Press.
The former surgeon was convicted of possession and importation of a child pornographic imager in 2005, and given a four-month suspended prison sentence.
The trial is taking place behind closed doors because it involves child victims.
Additional reporting by agencies.
