A TOP French surgeon is suspected of sexually abusing hundreds of children in what is feared to be the country's worst ever paedophile scandal.

Joël Le Scouarnec is alleged to have attacked girls and boys over three decades - sometimes when they were under anaesthetic.

1 Joël Le Scouarnec is alleged to have attacked girls and boys over three decades (stock) Credit: Getty - Contributor

The 66-year-old was convicted of possessing sickening images of child sexual abuse more than a decade ago but allowed to continue practising until his arrest in 2017.

The latest allegations surfaced during a police probe into claims he had raped two girls aged just four and six, reports The Times.

Le Scouarnec denies rape but admits "deviant behaviour" with the girls, according to his lawyer.

During investigation, shock cops found his personal diary, in which he is alleged to have recounted sexual assaults on about 250 children in hospitals where he worked.

The news magazine L'Express said that the case "could well be the biggest paedophile affair ever revealed in this country".

Francesca Satta, a lawyer representing one of the alleged victims, said: "You open the diary and you close it again straight away, the perversion is so enormous."

'DESCENDING INTO HELL'

Prosecutors in La Rochelle, western France, say Le Scouarnec is suspected of having carried out the assaults between 1989 until his arrest two years ago.

Detectives have started contacting the patients mentioned in the diaries, many of whom were unaware of any assaults.

One told the regional newspaper La Charente-Maritime that Mr Le Scouarnec's diary recounted how he had raped her after an operation for appendicitis.

"It was like descending into Hell," she said. Even the police officers were very shocked. He describes his feelings, his pleasure."

Le Scouarnec has admitted to sexually assaulting some child patients in hospitals but denies committing the acts spelled out in his diary.

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"He claims they are fictionalised writings about his fantasies, however nauseous they are," Thibault Kurzawa, his lawyer, said.

"He admits that his behaviour is inappropriate. It is almost a relief for him to have been arrested because he was in a spiral. He wasn't able to do anything else."

Le Scouarnec has been remanded in custody and is due to go on trial this winter.