Was Dominique Pelicot found guilty?

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Dominique Pelicot – the 72-year-old Frenchman who drugged his wife for nearly a decade and invited dozens of strangers to rape her – was convicted of aggravated rape on Thursday. The jury in Avignon also convicted Pelicot’s 50 co-defendants of rape, attempted rape or sexual assault, capping a harrowing three-month trial that has sparked feverish debate over the legal definition of rape. The New York Just reports that 72-year-old Pelicot was also found guilty of raping the wife of one of his co-defendants and distributing photos of his now ex-wife Gisèle, his daughter Caroline and his two daughters-in-law.

Pelicot was first arrested in 2020 after a supermarket security guard caught him secretly filming women’s skirts. His arrest led police to a homemade library containing 20,000 photos and videos documenting his years of abuse against Gisèle – shockingly organized in drives and folders labeled “Abuse,” “Night Alone,” and “Her Rapists,” among others. Although Gisèle – who only learned of the abuse after police showed her the footage – had the right under French law to keep the proceedings secret, she waived her anonymity in the hope that “when other women wake up without memories. “, perhaps you remember Mrs. Pelicot’s statement.”

Like Pelicot, some of the co-defendants in the case admitted that they were guilty of rape during the trial. But far more of them argued – despite the extensive video evidence – that they had never intended to rape Gisèle when they came to the Pelicots’ house. Some told the court that Pelicot led them to believe they were engaged in a consensual rape and tried to exploit a loophole in France’s legal definition of rape, which currently does not take consent into account, even though they met him in a chat room called “Ohne.” had your knowledge.”

Dominique Pelicot – who admitted his plan to invite strangers to rape his unconscious wife – was sentenced to 20 years in prison, the maximum possible sentence under French law. The Just reports that Pelicot’s 50 co-defendants nicknamed “Mr. The “Everyman” French media includes truck drivers, carpenters, tradesmen, a prison guard, an IT expert and a local journalist. While prosecutors pushed for long prison sentences for the co-defendants, the court sentenced many of them to less than a decade in prison and released some of them for time already served. The longest sentence ever Just It’s reportedly 15 years for a man who visited the Pelicots’ home six times and didn’t use a condom despite knowing he was HIV positive. According to a judge, those convicted have ten days to file an appeal.