The shock maxi-trial on the “Mazan rapes”, which pierced the veil on “chemical subjugation”, ended in Avignon, in the south of France. Dominique Pelicot he was “found guilty” of the aggravated rapes against his ex-wife Gisèle Pelicot.
Sentenced to 20 years, the maximum sentence.
In recent days, the victim listened in court to the “apologies” of her ex-husband, who for 10 years drugged and stunned her to have her raped by dozens of men whom he summoned over the Internet.
Dominique Pelicot, asked for 20 years for the man who had his wife raped by 50 men. The prosecutor: «Too little given the gravity»
Gisele Pelicot, the sentence
Among the 50 accused of sexual violence, only fifteen expressed apologies towards Gisèle, whose story has been seen around the world since the start of the trial in September. The sentence for “the Mazan rapes” – named after the town where the couple lived – will be announced, with sentences that could go up to the expected maximum of 20 years in prison.
The words of the judge
“Mr Pelicot, you are found guilty of aggravated rape on the person of Gisèle Pelicot,” declared the president of the Vaucluse criminal court, Roger Arata. Dominique Pelicot, 72 years old, stood up and listened to the judge attentively, but without expressing particular emotions. He is also found guilty of having collected images of his wife and daughter without their knowledge. The whole family is present this morning in the courtroom at the Palace of Justice in Avignon.
Her husband’s apology
“I would like to begin – said Dominique Pelicot, 72 years old, Gisèle’s ex-husband in the last hearing of the trial – by paying homage to the courage of my ex-wife”. «I ask you – continued the man who thought up and organized the rapes between 2011 and 2020 by dozens and dozens of people recruited on the web – and the rest of my family, to accept my apologies. I regret what I did, making them suffer for 4 years (from the date on which the facts emerged, ed.), I ask them for forgiveness.”
Gisèle, also 72, listened without batting an eyelid, even when her ex-husband declared, in his last opportunity to speak in court, that he had told “the complete truth” in these 14 weeks of debate. Stating that his only desire is to “be forgotten” due to the “shame” he feels within himself. “I have built myself an armor – he said – otherwise you will die in prison”.
The accused
The 50 co-accused also followed him closely, representing only a portion of the men recruited to rape his wife (others were not identified). Some did it several times, returning to the Pelicot house as many as five or six times. Some of them defended themselves by accusing him of having deceived them too, making them believe that he agreed with his wife in venturing into new experiences and that everything took place while she “pretended” to sleep. But what was listening to Dominique Pelicot were above all the five magistrates who will have to judge him.
The prosecution’s requests
The prosecution asked for the maximum sentence, 20 years in prison. Against the other defendants accused of aggravated rape, the requests vary between 10 and 18 years, for only one the prosecution requests 4 years for “harassing” the victim. Half of Gisèle’s rapists did not venture into conversation, simply stating that they had “nothing to add.” About fifteen expressed their apologies differently, sometimes adding that they “had no intention” of committing rape or that they had been “deceived” by Dominique Pelicot. “I would like to apologize to Mrs Pelicot,” said a sixty-year-old, “I would like to offer my sincere apologies to the victim again,” echoed a thirty-six-year-old, “I will regret what I did for the rest of my life,” added Mathieu , 62 years old.
Jerome, 46, also spoke, who after the first time returned to the Pelicot house six times for an appointment with Gisèle’s “chemical submission”: “Whatever the punishment that will be inflicted on me, I will not appeal out of respect of the victim, so that he does not have to relive” another trial. The prosecution sought 16 years in prison against him. Alone, at the end of the debate, Gisèle, who has become a symbol of dignity and courage, got up to leave the room, receiving prolonged applause from the audience present.
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