Judges in France deliver verdicts in Gisèle Pelicot’s historic rape trial | International

AVIGNON, France (AP) — A five-member panel of judges in France announced verdicts Thursday for more than four dozen men charged with the aggravated rape and sexual assault of Gisèle Pelicot. In a historic case that has deeply shaken the country in recent months.

Among the men on trial is Dominique Pelicot, the now ex-husband of the 72-year-old grandmother, who admitted he used drugs to knock out his wife of 50 years for years so he could and strangers he recruited online were able to abuse them during filming.

The horrific ordeal inflicted on Gisèle Pelicot for nearly a decade in what she considered a loving marriage, and her courage during the painful and shocking process, have transformed the retired power company employee into a feminist hero of the nation.

The trial, which spanned more than three months, mobilized activists against sexual violence and sparked calls for tougher measures to eradicate rape culture.

Dominique Pelicot, also 72, and 49 other men were tried in the southern French city of Avignon for aggravated rape and attempted rape and face up to 20 years in prison if convicted.

Prosecutors sought the maximum sentence for him and 10 to 18 years for the others. They also sought a four-year prison sentence for another defendant who was charged with aggravated sexual assault.

The 51 men were accused of taking part in Dominique Pelicot’s sordid rape and abuse fantasies, which were played out at the couple’s retirement home in the small Provence town of Mazan and elsewhere.

Dominique Pelicot testified that he hid sedatives in the food and drinks he gave his then-wife, rendering her so unconscious that he could do whatever he wanted to her for hours.

One of the men was on trial not for attacking Gisèle Pelicot, but for drugging and raping his own wife – with the help and drugs of Dominique Pelicot, who was also on trial for raping the other man’s wife.

The five judges voted on their verdicts by secret ballot, with a majority vote required to convict and punish those found guilty.

Activists against sexual violence hope for exemplary prison sentences and see the trial as a possible turning point in the fight against rape culture and the use of drugs to oppress victims.

Gisèle Pelicot’s courage, as a survivor of sexual abuse, to renounce her right to anonymity and to successfully advocate for the hearings and shocking evidence – including videos – to be heard publicly has raised eyebrows both at the national level in France and among families, Couples and other friend groups engaged in discussions about how to better protect women and the role men can play in achieving this goal.

“Men are starting to talk to women – their girlfriends, mothers and boyfriends – in ways they didn’t before,” said Fanny Foures, 48, who joined other women from the feminist group Les Amazones in messages of support for Gisèle Pelicot plastered walls around Avignon before the verdict.

“It was awkward at first, but now real dialogues are happening,” she said.

“Some women may be realizing for the first time that their ex-husbands have hurt them or that someone close to them has committed abuse,” Foures added. “And men are starting to reckon with their own behavior or complicity – things they have ignored or failed to act on. It’s hard, but it creates change.”

A large banner that activists hung on a city wall opposite the courthouse read: “MERCI GISELE” – Thank you, Gisèle.

Police first became aware of Dominique Pelicot in September 2020 when a supermarket security guard caught him secretly filming women’s skirts.

Police then found his library of homemade images documenting his wife’s years of abuse – a total of more than 20,000 photos and videos, stored on computer drives and cataloged in folders labeled “abuse,” “her rapists,” “night alone.” and other titles.

The abundance of evidence led the police to the other defendants. Investigators counted 72 different perpetrators in the videos, but were unable to identify them all.

Although some of the defendants – including Dominique Pelicot – admitted they were guilty of rape, many did not, even in the face of video evidence. The hearings sparked a broader debate in France about whether the country’s legal definition of rape should be expanded to include explicit mention of consent.

Some defendants argued that Dominique Pelicot’s consent also affected his wife. Some tried to excuse their behavior by insisting that they had not intended to rape anyone when they responded to their husband’s invitations to come to their home. Some blamed him, saying he led them to believe they were engaging in consensual sex.

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