A French court on Thursday handed down sentences against 51 men found guilty of participating in the mass rape of Gisele Pelicot, with terms ranging from 20 years for her ex-husband to three years for others.
Main perpetrator Dominique Pelicot got the maximum term of 20 years under the charges of aggravated rape. His 50 co-defendants received jail terms of between three and 15 years — less than what prosecutors had demanded. Two of these defendants had their jail terms suspended.
Dominique Pelicot, 72, had confessed to all the charges and admitted he mixed sedatives into the food and drink of his wife, Gisele Pelicot, so he could sexually assault her, and invited other men to do the same. The trial has made headlines in France and around the world.
The Pelicots were married for 50 years and had three children, moving to a small town in Provence after they retired.
Everything appeared normal, until Ms Pelicot’s life was torn apart in late 2020.
Her husband was arrested in September 2020 for filming up women’s skirts in a supermarket.
Police searched the couple’s house and electronic devices and found thousands of photos and videos of men engaging in sexual acts with Ms Pelicot while she appeared unconscious.
It was discovered that Dominique Pelicot had offered sex with his wife on a website and filmed the abuse. Ms Pelicot was so heavily drugged she had no recollection of being attacked and had to be told by the police what had happened to her.
The men, she told the court, treated her “like a rag doll, like a rubbish bag”.
