Ex-husband Dominique sentenced to 20 years in prison

The ex-husband of French rape survivor Gisèle Pelicot has been in prison for 20 years after drugging and raping her for nearly a decade and inviting dozens of strangers to abuse her too.

Dominique Pelicot, 72, was found guilty on all charges by a judge in Avignon, southern France, and wept in court as he was given the maximum sentence.

He stood trial along with 50 other men, all of whom were found guilty of at least one charge, although their sentences were shorter than prosecutors had requested.

Ms. Pelicot and her children appeared emotionless as the verdicts were read, occasionally glancing at the defendants and leaning their heads against the wall.

The convictions ended France’s largest-ever rape trial, which shocked the country and the world over the course of three months.

On Thursday morning, police closed the street opposite the courthouse to accommodate hundreds of people who had come to offer their support to Ms. Pelicot.

On the wall opposite the entrance was a large banner that read “Thank you, Gisèle.”

Below, several spectators chanted “Rapist, we see you” as the defendants filed in before the trial.

Ms Pelicot said outside court after the verdict that the trial had been a “very difficult ordeal”.

Her grandson, who is in his late teens, stood next to her for the first time, his arm over her shoulder, as she addressed the media.

Her voice faltered only once, when she said she had “never regretted” her decision to make the trial public “so that society could see what was going on.”

The 72-year-old’s decision to waive her automatic right to anonymity was highly unusual.

She attended the trial almost every day and appeared in the same courtroom as her husband of 50 years, from whom she is now divorced.

French and international media followed the case with growing interest and hundreds of journalists were present in court on Thursday.

As Ms. Pelicot spoke, hundreds of people chanted her name and sang feminist songs.

She thanked her supporters “deeply” and said she was “confident” that there was a “brighter future” in which men and women could live in “mutual respect.”

Ms Pelicot’s ex-husband, Dominique Pelicot, who had already confessed to his crimes, was found guilty of aggravated rape.

He was also found guilty of attempted aggravated rape of the wife of one of his co-defendants, Jean-Pierre Maréchal.

Maréchal – who was described as Dominique’s “disciple” because he drugged and raped his own wife for years and encouraged Dominque to do the same – was sentenced to 12 years in prison.

Dominique Pelicot was also found guilty of taking indecent images of his daughter Caroline Darian and his daughters-in-law Aurore and Celine.

Caroline, who was in court on Thursday, had said earlier in the trial that she felt like a “forgotten victim” because, unlike her mother’s case, there was no record of the abuse she believes was inflicted on her.

Dominique denied drugging and abusing his daughter.

“I will never come to see you and you will die alone like a dog,” she shouted at him in court in November.

After the verdict was announced, Dominique Pelicot’s lawyer said her client was “somewhat dazed” by his verdict and would consider whether to appeal. He has 10 days to decide.

Dominique Pelicot was charged along with 50 other men, 46 of whom were found guilty of rape, two of attempted rape and two of sexual assault.

Some of them have already been in prison for years since they were arrested during the first police investigation in 2021, and will therefore be released relatively soon.

Most of the men who stood trial denied that their crime was rape.

They argued that they did not know that Ms. Pelicot was unconscious and therefore “did not know” that they were raping her. It’s an argument that has sparked a nationwide debate over the legal definition of rape in France.

The defendants’ prison sentences range from three to 15 years.

In a statement to AFP, the Pelicot children said they were “disappointed” by the “low sentences.”

For nearly a decade starting in 2011, Dominique Pelicot drugged his now-ex-wife, raped her and recruited dozens of men online to have sex with her while she was unconscious.

His crimes were uncovered in 2020 when police arrested him on a separate charge for filming women’s skirts in a supermarket.

Police confiscated his devices and found thousands of videos on his laptop with evidence of around 200 rapes.

Investigators used the videos to track down his co-defendants, but they were unable to identify another 21 men.

Dominique Pelicot admitted the charge in 2020.

The trial sparked debate over whether the question of consent should be included in France’s legal definition of rape, as has been the case in other European countries.

Rape is currently defined in France as “any act of sexual penetration against another person by force, coercion, threat or surprise,” meaning prosecutors must prove intent to commit rape.

Many of the defendants argued that they did not know that Ms. Pelicot had not consented and claimed that they had been “tricked” by Dominique Pelicot into believing they were going to the couple’s home for a threesome, imagining the woman would sleep.

The trial also highlighted the issue of chemical subjugation or drug-induced sexual assault.

Most of the 50 men came from towns and villages within 50 km (30 miles) of the Pelicots’ home village of Mazan.

She They included firefighters, truck drivers, soldiers, a journalist and a DJand were described by defense attorneys as “ordinary people,” earning them the nickname “Monsieur-Tout-Le-Monde” (Mr. Everyman).

The trial also put a spotlight on sexual violence against women in France, with many praising Ms Pelicot for her courage in bringing the case to the public.

She previously said she was determined to “change the shame from victim to rapist.” It’s a phrase that has been repeated by her followers.

But Ms Pelicot has made it clear that behind her façade of strength lies “a field of ruins” and despite widespread recognition for what she has done, she is a reluctant hero.

“She keeps repeating: ‘I am normal’ – she doesn’t want to be seen as an icon,” her lawyer Stéphane Babonneau told the BBC.

“Women generally have a strength within them that they cannot even imagine and that they have to trust in themselves. That’s their message.”

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