– News in progress –
Dominique Pelicot was found guilty and sentenced to 20 years in prison on charges of aggravated rape towards his ex-wife Gisèle. The sentence was issued this morning by the judges of the Criminal Court of Avignon, France, where the trial is being held. The sentences for the other 50 defendants will be specified during the day.
The sentence
The 72-year-old was accused of drugging his wife for about a decade and having her repeatedly raped by dozens of men hired online at their home in Mazan. The judges accepted the prosecutor’s request, sentencing the accused to 20 years in prison maximum sentence provided for by the French penal code for the crime of rape with aggravating circumstances, in this case chemical subjugation and marital bond. Pelicot was also found guilty of possessing some sexually oriented photos depicting his daughter Caroline and her former daughters-in-law.
Lower sentences for the other 50 defendants
None of the other 50 defendants were acquitted, but the convictions are significantly lower than those requested by the prosecution. Prosecutors had set a minimum sentence of 10 years for the other rapes and four for the lone defendant accused of molestation. Jean-Pierre M., 63, defined as Pelicot’s “disciple”, was sentenced to 12 years in prison. The man was the only defendant not to appear on trial for acts committed against Gisèle Pelicot, but against his own wife, whom he drugged so that Dominique Pelicot could rape her.
The possibility of appealing
According to what the newspaper Le Parisien reports, Dominique Pelicot does not rule out appealing appeal. “From this point of view, no decision has yet been taken“, the 72-year-old’s lawyer, Béatrice Zavarro, told the press as she left the court after the sentence. The defenders of the other defendants expressed “satisfaction” for the outcome of the trial.
Statements before the sentencing
Before the verdicts were handed down, the judges gave all the defendants the chance to release statements spontaneous. Some have said of “have nothing to add“, while about fifteen asked Gisèle for forgiveness.
One of the latter, who went to the home of the Pelicot family six times and for whom the prosecution asked for 16 years in prison, announced that “whatever the sentence“will not appeal”out of respect for the victim, so that he does not have to endure“a new trial.
