Most of his patients came from poor council estates in northern Marseille and had low incomes, so they were able to claim the cost of dental care behind the social security system, the court said. “Money was what fueled Lionel Guedj and Jean-Claude (the father’s first name) was only looking for his son’s success, no matter what the cost,” prosecutor Marion Chabot said during the trial. The pair were found guilty of causing “willful violence resulting in mutilation or permanent disability” to 327 patients. They have been removed from the dental register.
Industrial abuse
Presiding judge Celine Ballerini said the two men were guilty of industrial abuse with invasive and unnecessary dental procedures that “wiped the smile” from patients’ faces, “destroyed” lives and left many in “unbearable pain”. They deserved harsh sentences, he said, because of the “number of victims”, the number of years in which they committed the crimes (six) and the “very serious” amount of money they had taken from the national health system. with the amount it cost to repair the damage. In addition, they had taken advantage of and tarnished “the dignified status of the dental surgeon,” he said. Arms crossed behind surgical masks, the couple remained impassive as the sentence was read. Instead, hundreds of victims broke into applause, prompting a rebuke from the judge, who remarked that “you should never be happy about a prison sentence”. They had denied the charges, but their lawyers said they would plead guilty to the lesser offense of wounding without purpose, which carries a maximum sentence of three years in prison. “I never, never, intended to hurt, to harm,” Lionel Guedj had told the court. In a group letter to the court on the final day of proceedings, the victims expressed their relief at being able to speak during the trial. “If you knew how many tears have been shed, how many lives have been destroyed, how many families have suffered. But all this month, we have heard and are relieved to be considered as plaintiffs after years of silence,” they said.
