The man accused of drugging his then-wife and inviting dozens of men to rape her for nearly 10 years has been sentenced to 20 years.
On Thursday, Dec. 19, a jury in Avignon, France, found Dominique Pélicot, 72, guilty of aggravated rape against his then-wife Gisèle Pélicot, also 72, according to the BBC.
Dominique was also found guilty of the attempted aggravated rape of the wife of one of the other accused men — Jean-Pierre Marechal — taking indecent images of his daughter, Caroline Durain, and his daughters-in-law, Aurore and Celine, per the outlet.
The outlet reported that Dominique cried as the judge read out the sentences in court. Gisèle and her children, including daughter Caroline, were present in court for the sentencing.
In September, Dominique confessed to his crimes in court, admitting, “I am a rapist,” the BBC reported.
He has been on trial along with 50 other men, whose ages range between 26 and 74. Those 50 were also sentenced alongside Dominique after being given guilty verdicts for crimes including aggravated rape, sexual assault and child abuse imagery. This included Marechal, who was found guilty of attempted rape and aggravated rape of his wife, as well as drugging her, per the BBC.
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Retired electrician and estate agent Dominique said he had been drugging Gisèle and filming the rapes for nearly a decade from 2011 to 2020, according to U.K. newspaper The Times.
He told the court he regularly crushed drugs in his wife’s food, including her favorite dessert — raspberry ice cream, according to the The Telegraph.
“I used to say to him, ‘How lucky am I, you’re a darling, you really look after me,’ ” Gisèle previously said in court, the BBC reported.
Dominique was arrested in December 2020 after police seized his electronics while investigating him for filming up the skirts of three women, prosecutors previously said.
Gisèle had no idea about the rapes until police told her after discovering thousands of photos and videos taken by her husband, who had documented the abuse after recruiting strangers on the internet, The New York Times reported, citing the investigating judge’s report.
“I’ve lost 10 years of my life that I’ll never make up for,” she said in court, per The Guardian. “This scar will never heal,” she said, adding that she would never “find peace” over the ordeal and that the 50 men had “sullied” her.
“I’ve seen people take the stand who deny rape, and some who admit it. I want to say to these men: When you entered that bedroom, at what point did Madame Pelicot give you her consent?” she said, speaking about herself in the third person, according to The Guardian.
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“At what point did you become aware of this inert body? At what point did you not report it to the police?” she continued.
On Tuesday, Nov. 19, the court heard a 2020 police statement from Dominque where he said that he “facilitated the rapes” and admitted that “between 30 and 50 people” have come to their house “to have sex with my wife,” per the BBC.
The previous day, the couple’s three children appeared in court and described their “devastation” after learning about what their father did, according to The Guardian.
Dominique asked the couple’s eldest son David Pelicot, 50, for forgiveness, but he replied, “Never,” The Guardian reported.
If you or someone you know has been sexually assaulted, please contact the National Sexual Assault Hotline at 1-800-656-HOPE (4673) or go to rainn.org.
