(BBC News) French rape survivor Gisèle Pelicot’s ex-husband has been jailed for 20 years after drugging and raping her, and inviting dozens of strangers to abuse her over nearly a decade.
Dominique Pelicot, 72, was found guilty of all charges by a judge in Avignon, southern France. He cried in court as he was sentenced to the maximum term.
He was on trial with 50 other men, all of whom were found guilty of at least one charge, although their jail terms were less than what prosecutors had requested.
Ms. Pelicot and her children looked emotionless as the verdicts were read out, occasionally glancing at the defendants and resting their heads against the wall.
The convictions brought an end to France’s largest-ever rape trial, which over the course of three months has shocked the country and the world.
On Thursday morning, police shut the road opposite the courthouse to accommodate hundreds of people who turned up to offer their support to Ms. Pelicot.
A large banner reading “Thank you Gisèle” was spread across a wall facing the entrance.
Underneath it, several members of the public chanted “rapist, we see you” as defendants trickled in ahead of the trial.
Speaking outside of the court following the verdicts, Ms. Pelicot said the trial had been a “very difficult ordeal.”
Her grandson, who is in his late teens, was standing next to her for the first time, his arm over her shoulder as she addressed the media.
Her voice faltered only once as said she “never regretted” her decision to make the trial public “so society could see what was happening.”
Ms. Pelicot’s ex-husband Dominique Pelicot – who had confessed to his crimes – was found guilty of aggravated rape.
He was also found guilty of the attempted aggravated rape of the wife of one of his co-accused, Jean-Pierre Maréchal.
Maréchal – who was described as Dominique’s “disciple” as he drugged and raped his own wife for years and invited Dominque to do the same – was jailed for 12 years.
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 – previously told the trial she felt she was the “forgotten victim” as, unlike in her mother’s case, there was no record of the abuse she is convinced was inflicted on her.
Dominique denied drugging and abusing his daughter.
“I will never come see you and you will die alone like a dog,” she shouted at him in court in November.
After the verdict was delivered, Dominique Pelicot’s lawyer said her client was “somewhat dazed” by his sentence and would consider whether to appeal. He has 10 days to decide whether to do so.
Dominique Pelicot stood accused alongside 50 other men, 46 of whom were found guilty of rape, two of attempted rape and two of sexual assault.
Several of them have already spent years in jail as they were arrested when police conducted their initial investigation in 2021, and will therefore be free relatively soon.
Most of the men on trial had denied that what they did was rape.
They argued they did not realize Ms. Pelicot was unconscious and therefore did not “know” they were raping her. It is an argument that sparked a nationwide discussion about France’s legal definition of rape.
The defendants’ jail terms range from three to 15 years.
In a statement to AFP news agency, the Pelicot children said they were “disappointed” by the “low sentences”.
