After having demanded on Monday the maximum sentence of 20 years of imprisonment against Dominique Pelicot and severe sanctions against twenty of his co-defendants, the prosecution continued its submissions on Tuesday morning at the Mazan rape trial, each time demanding between 12 and 14 years in prison.
In one hour, in a tone without emphasis, the attorney general Jean-François Mayet summarized the facts alleged against eight of the last 30 accused in this trial, the issue of which, he estimated on Monday, is nothing less than “fundamentally change the relationships between men and women”.
>> Lire : Twenty years required against Dominique Pelicot at the Mazan rape trial
For each of them, the representative of the prosecution asked the Vaucluse criminal court to impose sentences of 12 years of criminal imprisonment when it delivers its verdict, on December 20 at the latest.
Consent never collected
Tuesday morning, Jean-François Mayet began with the case of Boris M., 37, who came to the Pelicot home in Mazan on the night of January 26, 2020. Like the other co-defendants, he had responded to the invitation of the husband, who drugged his wife Gisèle and delivered her to dozens of strangers (read box).
But the question is therefore whether he knew that she was asleep without his knowledge: “He told us at the hearing that he had been lobotomized,” recalled the magistrate. “He says he was a victim, like Ms. Pelicot, of Dominique Pelicot. In reality, he was content with the situation as presented by Dominique Pelicot, (…), at no time did he request or obtain the consent of Ms. Pelicot in view of her condition”; only the power of attorney from Dominique Pelicot was sufficient for him.
The same sentence of 12 years’ imprisonment was then requested by Jean-François Mayet against seven other co-defendants.
Against Cyril B., 47 years old, who “was well aware that Madame Pelicot should not be woken up”. Against Thierry Pa., 54 years old, according to whom Dominique Pelicot would be the “solely responsible” for the facts – on the videos, this accused is seen carrying out vaginal and anal penetration, digital and with his penis, on the victim.
He came to Mazan twice, to “please the couple”
Against Omar D., 36 years old, for whom “the agreement and the presence of the husband appeared to be sufficient”. Against Jean T., 52 years old, of whom “there is nothing to prove that he was drugged” himself, as he had claimed – on the videos, he acts consciously and “obviously (… ) a gesture of satisfaction by raising the thumb in front of the camera”, notes the general advocate. Against Mahdi D., 36 years old, who says he is a “victim of the actions of Dominique Pelicot” and who refuted any penetration, until watching videos proving the opposite. Against Ahmed T., 54, who “rejects any responsibility for the facts”. And against Redouane A., 40 years old, who came to Mazan twice, to “please the couple”, ironically recalled the attorney general.
The second representative of the prosecution, Laure Chabaud, then took over, again demanding 12 years of imprisonment against Lionel R., 44, who said he was participating in “part of a couple’s fantasy”. “He recognizes the acts of penetration, but only after having seen the videos while in police custody,” underlines the magistrate.
Thirteen, fourteen and fifteen years required
She then requested 13 years in prison against Florian R., 32 years old, who did not recognize “the intentional element of the offense”, then Grégory S., 31 years old, who while having “awareness of Gisèle Pelicot’s altered state” continued until her ejaculation. Identical sentence length required against Abdelali D., 47 years old, who came to Mazan twice and said he did not recognize himself in the images: “It must have been a double,” he said, recalls Laure Chabaud. Also 13 years served against Adrien L., 34 years old, and against Cyprien C., 43 years old.
I committed rape but it was my body, not my brain
Against Karim S., 38 years old, “one of the rare accused whose Skype exchanges [avec Dominique Pelicot, ndlr.] were discovered”, the public prosecutor is asking for 14 years of imprisonment, just like against Jean-Luc L., 46 years old, who came twice to the Pelicot home, and against Christian L., 56 years old, filmed imposing penetrations to Gisèle Pelicot with her Vaucluse firefighter t-shirt and who declared in front of the court: “I committed rape but it was my body, not my brain”.
Idem against Thierry Po., 61, holder of numerous child pornography images, who presents “an absence of empathy for the victim, an absence of shame and guilt”, notes the attorney general. A sentence of 14 years is also required against Nicolas F., 42 years old, also in possession of child pornography, as well as for Cédric V., 44 years old, who came to Mazan twice.
Then, 15 years are required Joan K., 27, and Vincent C., 43, who both visited the Pelicots twice. 15 years are also requested against Hassan O., on the run and under arrest warrant.
Sixteen years of imprisonment requested
Then the quantum of the sentence requested rose to 16 years of imprisonment against Fabien S., 39 years old, who presents “emotional coldness and a lack of empathy towards the victim” and has a total of eighteen mentions in his criminal record for various acts of violence.
Same length of imprisonment requested against Charly A., 30 years old, who came to Mazan six times, and against Cédric G., 50 years old, described by the attorney general as a man with an “inordinate appetite for sex” and who possessed numerous child pornography images.
The last four requisitions will be discussed on Wednesday morning. In the afternoon, it will be the turn of the pleadings, which will begin with those of Béatrice Zavarro, the lawyer of Dominique Pelicot, the “conductor” of this extraordinary affair, symbol of violence against women and chemical submission.
Stéphanie Jaquet and the afp
