French Court Passes Sentence in High Profile Group Rape Case: 20 Years in Prison for Victim's Husband
A court in France has sentenced Dominique Pelicot to 20 years in prison for secretly drugging his wife Gisèle and inviting strangers to rape her. This was reported by France24 and the BBC.
Pelico was tried along with 50 other men who received prison sentences ranging from 3 to 15 years, less than prosecutors had demanded. Two of the defendants received suspended sentences. Pelico's three children are disappointed that the sentences are so short.
72-year-old Gisèle Pelicot stressed that she ‘never regretted’ her decision to go public with the rape and that the messages she received from supporters gave her ‘strength’ to continue her fight.
It was the largest rape trial to date, lasting three months and attracting attention in France and around the world.
On Thursday morning, hundreds of people gathered outside the courthouse to support Gisèle Pelicot. Police blocked the road to ensure order. A banner reading ‘Thank you, Giselle’ was hung on the wall in front of the entrance, and the crowd chanted ‘Rapist, we see you’ as the defendants entered the court.
After the verdicts were announced, Gisèle Pelicot called the trial ‘a very difficult ordeal’. During her address to journalists, her teenage grandson appeared next to her for the first time, supporting her by holding her shoulder.
Dominique Pelicot was also found guilty of attempted rape of the wife of one of the defendants, Jean Pierre Marechal, as well as creating indecent images of his daughter Caroline and daughters-in-law Aurora and Celine.
For about 10 years, 72-year-old Frenchwoman Gisele Pelicot suffered mass rapes organised by her husband Dominique Pelicot, who drugged her into unconsciousness and invited strangers he found on the Internet to rape his wife.
Gisele Pelicot was unaware of the actions of her husband, with whom she had lived together for 50 years. The frequent administration of sedatives and sexual violence affected her health, and she and her husband visited a doctor, who complained of memory loss and pelvic pain.
The rape came to light after Dominique Pelicot was detained in a supermarket in September 2020 for taking photos under customers' skirts, and law enforcement officers seized his laptop and phones, where they found hundreds of photos and videos of the rape of Gisele Pelicot.