He faces charges of aggravated rape and sexual assault against 299 victims, most of them children at the time. Read more at straitstimes.com.

VANNES, France (AP) — A former surgeon went on trial in France on Monday for the alleged rape or sexual abuse of 299 victims, most of them children who were his patients, in what investigators and his own notebooks describe as a pattern of violence spanning over three decades.

A French former surgeon accused of abusing hundreds of patients, most of them children, has told a court that he admits to having "committed despicable acts" and "understands and shares the suffering" caused to his alleged victims.