The 72-year-old went from anonymous victim to feminist icon urging women to “stop being silent.”
Gisèle Pelicot’s ex-husband faces the maximum sentence for serial rapes, according to French ruling
AFP.
The French justice imposed this Thursday the maximum sentence of 20 years in prison on Dominique Pelicot for drugging his then wife Gisèle for a decade to rape her along with dozens of strangers, at the end of a historic trial.
“Mr. Pelicot, with respect to the facts as a whole, what found guilty of aggravated rape“said Roger Arata, the president of the Avignon court in southern France.
The 72-year-old defendant, who received the guilty plea standing and without expressing any emotion, He never denied having drugged Gisèle with anxiolytics to put her to sleep between 2011 and 2020. and raping her along with strangers he contacted online.
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But the heavy punishment affected him, said his lawyer Béatrice Zavarro, who the day before told AFP she hoped the court would take into account the “traumas” his client suffered during his childhood, including a rape at age 9. The lawyer did not rule out appealing the decision.
In addition to the main accused, the Justice declared the other 50 defendants guilty –one of them in rebellion–, despite the fact that around thirty of them had asked for absolution considering that they were “manipulated” by the “monster”, the “wolf”, the “ogre” Dominique Pelicot.
The Magistrates imposed sentences of between 3 years in prison on these –one of mandatory compliance– and 15 years in prison, in line with the 11.1 years on average per rape in France in 2022, but below the between 4 and 18 years in prison requested by the prosecution.
As a sign of the pressure that was planned on the five magistrates, the feminist collective Amazonas de Avignon, hours before the verdict, posted posters around the court with the slogan: “Christmas in prison, Easter behind bars”, “Shame changed sides”.
The tension was palpable in the courtroom, where a significant police force was deployed. Of the 32 defendants who appeared free, some will not go directly to prisondespite having been convicted.
– “Thank you Gisèle” –
The court’s decision was closely followed in France and also abroad, where this trial and its victim Gisèle Pelicot became a symbol of sexual assault on women. The accused, between 27 and 74 years old, have diverse social profiles.
“Gisèle Pélicot has put machismo and rape culture on the spot. Her brave decision to make the trial public has caused shame to change sides“, commented the Spanish Minister of Equality, Ana Redondo, on the social network
A total of 180 media outlets – 86 foreigners – were accredited to follow the reading of the verdict, but only four – including the AFP – were able to access the main courtroom. The other journalists settled in adjacent broadcast rooms.
Out of the ordinary due to its duration, the number of accused and, above all, the atrocity of the reported eventsthis trial has already made history.
Laure Chabaud, one of the representatives of the prosecution, He hoped during the process that the court’s decision would go beyond the fate of the accusedwould send “a message of hope to the victims of sexual violence” and would serve to achieve “change” in society.
Feminist associations also hope that the trial will change the attitude towards rape, attempted rape and sexual assault, which in France reports more than 200,000 women every year.
This case will also have contributed to embody the scourge of victims of sexual assaultin particular through the use of chemical submission, through the figure of Gisèle Pelicot.
The 72 year old womanwhich rejected the trial being held behind closed doors, went from being a anonymous victim to feminist icon who urges women to “stop being silent” so that “shame changes sides.”
“Thank you Gisèle,” proclaimed a hanging banner in the historic center of Avignon on Thursday morning, in front of the court.
Source: Digital Integrated System.
