Dominique Pelicot was “found guilty” of the aggravated rapes against his ex-wife Gisèle Pelicot, in the Mazan rape trial, which ends today in Avignon and sentenced to 20 years, the maximum sentence. Fifty-one defendants, accused of raping the woman who had been drugged by her husband for 10 years. “Mr. Pelicot, you are found guilty of aggravated rape on the person of Gisèle Pelicot,” declared the president of the criminal court of Vaucluse, Roger Arata. Dominique Pelicot, 72 years old, stood up, listened to the judge attentively , but without expressing emotions. The man is also found guilty of having collected images of his wife and daughter without their knowledge. Dominique Pelicot “takes note” of the maximum sentence and does not rule it out to appeal. ”We will take advantage of the ten-day deadline given to us to understand whether to appeal,” said Pelicot’s lawyer, Béatrice Zavarro, specifying that nothing has yet been decided.
All 51 defendants are guilty
All 51 defendants in the trial were found guilty, including the victim’s husband. Most of them are found guilty of “aggravated rape in a meeting and administration” of drugs to Gisèle Pelicot. The judge is gradually listing the various sentences: in addition to the 20 years in prison for the husband, for the others the sentences imposed so far from the court of Avignon ranging from 3 to 13 years of imprisonment. For example, Jean-Pierre M. is sentenced to 12 years in prison Jacques C. to 5 years of which 3 with conditional. Nine years for Christian L., 8 for Cyrille D. Most of the defendants sentenced today will also be registered in the Fijais, a French database that includes perpetrators of sexual or violent crimes.
The words of Gisèle
Gisèle Pelicot said she ”respects” the judges’ ruling, which was criticized, in particular, by various feminist movements who consider it too soft. ”I respect her,” the woman reiterated, speaking after the decision announced this morning at the Palace of Justice in Avignon. “I think of the unrecognized victims, whose stories often remain in the shadows. I want you to know that we share the same struggle”, the woman said again. Despite the horror suffered for years and years, Pelicot stressed that he “now has confidence in our ability to collectively seize a future in which all, women and men, can live in harmony, with mutual respect and understanding.” Shortly before, a member of the Pelicot family had declared that the three children, David, Caroline and Florian, were ”disappointed” by the sentences handed down by the magistrates against the 51 defendants in the trial, which in their opinion were ”light”.
“Thanks to her the world is no longer the same”
The tragic story originated in the deep south of France, then went around the world. Gisèle Pelicot, now seventy years old, was raped for 10 years by dozens and dozens of men, 50 of whom (between 26 and 74 years old) appear as defendants in the trial which is nearing its conclusion. The first of the prosecution’s requests, 20 years, the maximum, was requested for the husband of the woman who for a decade drugged, raped and had his wife raped by dozens of men recruited on the Internet. ”Thank you for your courage Gisèle Pelicot. Through her, the voice of many victims is expressed today, shame has changed ground, taboos are broken. From now on, thanks to her, the world is no longer the same,” the president of the Assemblée Nationale, Yael Braun-Pivet, wrote in a message published on
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