Man sentenced to 20-year in prison for orchestrating ex-wife’s gang rape
A French court on Thursday have sentenced Dominique Pelicot, who was accused of orchestrating the mass rape of his ex-wife, Gisele Pelicot.
The shocking case, which has captivated France, involved dozens of strangers recruited online by Pelicot to participate in the heinous crime.
Pelicot, who had already confessed to the crimes, was convicted of aggravated rape by the court in Avignon.
He faces up to 20 years in prison when sentencing is announced.
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“Mr Pelicot, you are found guilty of aggravated rape of Gisele Pelicot,” said the presiding judge of the criminal court in Avignon, Roger Arata, adding his sentence would be announced later in the morning.
Dominique Pelicot, 72, has admitted to drugging Gisele Pelicot for almost a decade so he and strangers he recruited online could rape her.
Gisele Pelicot, 72, has become a feminist hero at home and abroad for refusing to be ashamed, waiving her right to a closed trial, and standing up to her aggressors in court.
Alongside her ex-husband, 50 other men aged 27 to 74 have been on trial, including one who did not abuse her but raped his wife with Dominique Pelicot’s help.
On November 25, prosecutors requested the maximum sentence against Dominique Pelicot for aggravated rape.
It is widely expected that Dominique Pelicot will receive the full 20-year term but considerably more uncertainty surrounds the sentencing of the other defendants.
The prosecution has requested 10 to 18 years in prison against the 49 defendants also charged with aggravated rape. One of these accused is on the run and being tried in absentia.
One more accused—facing the lesser charge of groping—risks up to four years in prison.
Thirty-two of the accused are attending the trial as free men, while the others, including Dominique Pelicot, were remanded in custody.
Earlier Thursday, Gisele Pelicot arrived at the courthouse smiling and cheered by crowds of supporters and feminist activists waiting outside who chanted her name and slogans like “Justice for Gisele” and “Shame has Changed Sides.”.
“Rape affects women all over the world; that’s why the whole world has its eyes on what’s going to happen,” said Ghislaine Sainte Catherine, one of the members of the Amazons of Avignon feminist collective.
Her children David, Caroline, and Florian arrived half an hour earlier, entering the courtroom alongside a group of men accused of raping their mother.
“We came with our things for prison,” said one of them, pointing to the sports bags on the ground.
Images of Gisele Pelicot dominated the front pages of major French papers on Thursday.
“A verdict for the future,” said left-leaning Liberation. “Merci madame,” said L’Humanite, while La Provenance declared “the moment of truth.”
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