Defendants found guilty despite claims of ignorance

In the Mazan case, the court found that all the accused, although some were manipulated by Dominique Pelicot, were aware of the acts committed on Gisèle, the drugged and unconscious victim.

Dominique Pelicot, at the center of the resounding Mazan rape trial, was able to influence his co-defendants, but they, to whom he handed over his previously drugged wife, could all “apprehend the situation” and understand that it was rapeaccording to the motivations of the judgment condemning them, consulted on Saturday by theAFP.

The criminal court on Thursday in Avignon sentenced the 51 accused to sentences ranging from three years in prison, two of which were suspended, to 20 years of criminal imprisonment.after almost four months of a trial symbolizing the fight against sexual violence against women.

For 10 years, Dominique Pelicot had drugged without his knowledge then raped and invited dozens of strangers recruited on the internet to rape his now ex-wife, Gisèle.

In its motivations, the court underlines that the “split personality” of Dominique Pelicot “allowed him to 'display' and conceal an obsessive sexuality, his fantasies and deviant sexual activities, both from his wife and his family” .

It has not been established that everyone was informed beforehand that Gisèle Pelicot would be drugged.estimates the court, which underlines its “manipulative” side, relying on expert reports.

Many accused have in fact claimed to have been led by Dominique Pelicot to think of participating in the fantasy of a libertine couple.. The main accused, on the contrary, assured that they were all fully informed of the situation.

The court judges for its part:excluded that Gisèle Pelicot could have participated in any way whatsoever in the organization of the sexual abuse of which she herself is a victim..

Everyone had their free will

And if Dominique Pelicot “was able to use stratagems against his contacts (…), on the date of the facts, each of the accused had free will and sufficient capacity for discernment.

The court therefore retains for all the accused both “chemical coercion” and “surprise”, which applies according to case law to an act carried out during the victim's sleep.. “Coercion” and “surprise” are two of the legally constitutive elements of rape.

The court also rejects any idea of ​​“consent by proxy” or “presumption of consent on the part of a totally unconscious victim”, some accused having said they thought that Gisèle Pelicot agreed, since her husband had assured them so.

“Each of them (…) sufficiently informed of the state of unconsciousness of Gisèle Pelicot and having the possibility of interrupting their action at any time and at the sight of an inert and unconscious woman, deliberately circumvented the free consent of the victim by imposing sexual acts on her.”

“The intentional element – ​​without which no crime exists – is therefore reported here and establishes the guilt of each person”, further underlines the president of the court, Roger Arata, while the defense of several accused pleaded for acquittal on the grounds of lack of intent to commit rape.

If the conviction of all the accused was welcomed, feminist associations regretted after the verdict that the court had handed down less severe sentences than requested by the prosecution.

For a man who came six times to rape Gisèle Pelicot, sentenced to 13 years for the 16 required, the court thus noted his “elaborate introspection capacities”, his recognition of the facts, despite a “significant danger”. (tib/ats)

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