The Vaucluse criminal court pronounced its verdict this Thursday, December 19, concluding the four months of the Mazan rape trial. The main victim, Gisèle Pelicot, declares having been “upset” by the support received.
Gisèle Pelicot speaks of a “very difficult ordeal” as she closes the four months of the Mazan rape trial this Thursday, December 19. The Vaucluse criminal court sentenced Dominique Pelicot to the maximum sentence of 20 years of criminal imprisonment and declared guilty all of his 50 co-defendants, sentenced to sentences ranging from 3 to 15 years, below the requisitions.
“At this moment, I think first and foremost of my three children David, Caroline and Florian. I also think of my grandchildren because they are the future and it is also for them that I led this fight, as well only to my daughters-in-law,” said Gisèle Pelicot as she left the court.
Gisèle Pelicot sent her thoughts to “all the other families affected by this tragedy” and “to the unrecognized victims whose stories often remain in the shadows”, adding:
“I want you to know that we share the same fight.”
“That society can take up the debates”
While the Mazan rape affair shocked the country, and even beyond, and dozens of people found themselves this Thursday in front of the Avignon court, Gisèle Pelicot expressed her “deepest gratitude to all the people who supported me throughout this ordeal.”
“Your testimonies moved me and I drew from it the strength to come back every day to face these long days of hearing,” she said.
In her speech, Gisèle Pelicot also thanked the victims’ assistance association, the journalists “for the faithful, respectful and dignified treatment” and her lawyers.
Mazan rapes: Gisèle Pelicot, the woman who wants to “change society”
At the start of the trial, the septuagenarian had chosen to close the closed session so that “the shame changes sides”, she said. “I wanted by opening the doors of this trial on September 2 that society could take up the debates that were held there,” she expressed this Thursday, assuring that she “never regretted this decision “.
“I now have confidence in our ability to collectively seize a future in which everyone, women and men, can live in harmony with respect and mutual understanding,” she concluded.
Gisèle Pelicot “respects the court and the decision”
Dominique Pelicot, described as the “conductor” of the criminal scheme which aimed to recruit men on the Coco.gg forum – since closed – to come and rape his wife, whom he had drugged beforehand, was sentenced to maximum of 20 years of criminal imprisonment.
The 50 co-defendants were sentenced to sentences ranging from 3 to 15 years. All of the sentences handed down are below the requirements of the public prosecutor, who had requested sentences of 4 to 18 years in prison. No acquittal was pronounced, certain facts were reclassified as sexual assault or attempted rape.
This situation angered many people, particularly those gathered this Thursday in Avignon. Gisèle Pelicot’s children said they were “disappointed” with the sentences imposed, considering them too “low”, according to a statement to AFP. For her part, Gisèle Pelicot said “respect the court and the decision”.
Charlotte Lesage and Salomé Robles
