A French court on Thursday sentenced Dominique Pelicot to 20 years in prison for drugging and orchestrating the rape of his then-wife by dozens of men over nearly a decade, in one of France’s largest sexual abuse trials.
Fifty other defendants, aged 26 to 74 and including professionals such as a nurse, soldier, journalist and prison guard, were also convicted. Forty-seven were found guilty of rape, two of attempted rape and two of sexual assault, with sentences ranging from three to 15 years.
The court heard that Pelicot, 72, a retired electrician, sedated his wife Gisèle by crushing sleeping pills into her food and invited men to assault her while unconscious at their home in Mazan, Provence, between 2011 and 2020.
Gisèle Pelicot, 72, who waived her right to anonymity to ensure “shame could change sides,” watched the sentencing with her children. She has been praised for her courage in pushing for a public trial to challenge what she called France’s “macho, patriarchal society that trivialises rape.”
Evidence included meticulously catalogued videos of the assaults found on Dominique Pelicot’s computer. He admitted the charges in court, stating “I am a rapist.”
The case came to light after Pelicot was also found to have secretly filmed his adult daughter and daughters-in-law in bathrooms and bedrooms, leading to additional convictions.
Some sentences were lower than prosecutors had requested, prompting protests outside the courthouse. (incyprus)
