A documentary titled Les Cercles du silence (The Circles of Silence), directed by Cyril Denvers, examines the role of the medical profession in the case of Joël Le Scouarnec, a surgeon convicted of sexually assaulting nearly 300 victims. The film, set to air on France 2 on September 22 at 9:10 PM, uses a mix of fiction and artificial intelligence to reconstruct certain scenes. It features testimonies from observers, judges involved in the case, and victims of the former surgeon. The documentary also delves into Le Scouarnec’s family environment to better understand his personality and assess what his close circle may have known about his actions. Joël Le Scouarnec continued his medical career despite a 2005 conviction for possessing child pornography. In 2025, after a three-month trial, he was sentenced to 20 years in prison—the maximum penalty under French law. Recently, on August 19, the Lorient (Morbihan) prosecutor announced the opening of a new judicial investigation into 40 sexual assaults and 10 rapes of minors under 15 years old. The full scale of the scandal was revealed through the surgeon’s extensive diaries, in which he recorded the names of his victims and the abuses he committed, until his arrest in 2017. Priscilla Jobard, Le Scouarnec’s niece, was just three years old when she was first sexually assaulted by her uncle. She recounts her earliest memory of the abuse: "It started in a room where there was a piano. That’s when I went into shock. I didn’t understand what was happening, and I couldn’t do anything." For six years, she endured repeated sexual abuse. "Every time we went to visit them on vacation, there was an attack," she says. One time, while playing video games in the family vacation home, Le Scouarnec took her picture before assaulting her. "The worst part is that as a child, you can’t defend yourself. You just wait and keep playing," she explains. In 2000, when she was nine, Priscilla confided in her older sister, Aurore, who then told their mother, Annie. After hearing Priscilla’s account, Annie confronted her brother, Joël Le Scouarnec, the following day. Their conversation, reenacted in the documentary, reveals a troubling exchange. "Priscilla told me you did things to her. Is that true?" Annie asks. Le Scouarnec hesitates before admitting the abuse but denies assaulting Aurore. "I didn’t think I was hurting anyone. These are impulses I can’t control," he says. Annie, shaken by the revelation and still grieving the recent loss of her husband, advised him to seek medical help. Years later, during the trial, the judge questioned why Annie didn’t report the abuse to the police. "I didn’t think it was possible," she said. "I didn’t realize he was dangerous. I thought he had done it once and had since recovered."