“What circumstance is society ready to tolerate to mitigate the penalty legally incurred? Any ! », ruled prosecutor Marion Chabot before requesting, on Monday April 4, ten years in prison and a fine of 375,000 euros against Lionel Guedj, 41, this Marseille dentist struck off in 2016 and tried for mutilations on nearly 350 of his patients. Ten years in prison when he has not served a single day is the maximum incurred for intentional violence resulting in mutilation, and a fine of 375,000 euros, the one intended to punish the scam, the two main offenses charged to the one who had screwed his plate in 2005 in the heart of the northern districts of Marseille.
“The seriousness of the facts, the number of victims: all the criteria are met for the application of the legal ceilings”estimated Marion Chabot, who went so far as to regret “legislative loophole”, the absence of an aggravating circumstance when the intentional violence is knowingly committed by a healthcare professional. She asked the court for the confiscation of the sums seized from life insurance and current accounts, but also works of art and equipment from the dental office. The prosecutor added the confiscation of the opulent villa of the Guedj couple, in the Aix countryside, even though, during the investigation, his wife bought out all of her husband’s shares.
The representative of the public health department of the Marseille public prosecutor’s office also requested against Jean-Claude Guedj, 70, the father of Lionel Guedj, a five-year prison sentence, including one year suspended probation, as well as a fine of 150 000 euros. Against this “father-son pair that makes you think of the association of criminals”, the prosecution wanted the court to issue a warrant of committal when it renders its judgment – not before the fall, has already warned President Céline Ballérini. Finally, two fines totaling 575,000 euros and dissolution were claimed against the two companies that managed their dental practice.
3,900 devitalized healthy teeth
This uncompromising indictment responded to the “non-standard” nature of this trial, which began on February 28, during which a hundred plaintiffs told the bar of an ordeal that has lasted for a dozen years: abscesses, infections, bridges that fall , social isolation… One of the victims compared his dental martyrdom to rape, another mentioned a suicidal temptation.
“We have never seen that! », launched M.me Chabot, who estimated at 3,900 the number of healthy teeth devitalized out of 327 patients to place large bridges, very profitable, paid for by Social Security and mutual insurance companies. In 2010, Lionel Guedj was the highest paid dentist in France, with 2.9 million euros in fees, despite a patient base, half of whom benefited from CMU.
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