Prosecutors seek maximum sentence for Gisele Pelicot’s ex-husband

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AVIGNON, France — France’s massive rape case took a new phase Monday; Prosecutors have begun determining the verdicts and sentences they want for dozens of men accused of raping Gisele Pelicot while she was drugged into unconsciousness by her husband.

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After nearly three months of hearings, the trial of 51 defendants is beginning to wrap up in the southern city of Avignon. Pelicot’s courage during the harrowing trial helped her become an icon even beyond France for campaigners against sexual violence.

Prosecutors began Monday focusing on Dominique Pelicot, to whom Gisele Pelicot, 71, had been married for nearly 50 years and whom she believed to be a loving, caring husband.

However, he admitted that he had been lacing her food and drinks with sedatives for years so he could rape her, and that he had also invited dozens of strangers he recruited online to rape her.

Prosecutor Laure Chabaud asked the panel of judges to impose the maximum possible sentence (20 years) for the aggravated rape of the victim’s ex-husband. Dominique Pelicot, who turns 72 this week, was looking at the ground with one hand on the handle of her cane as the prosecutor spoke.

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“Twenty years within the four walls of a prison,” he said. “It’s both too much and not enough.”

The court is expected to announce its decision before December 20.

Gisele Pelicot, who waived her right to anonymity, pressed for sensational footage of her husband filming the rapes to be presented in the courtroom; These images showed that he was unconscious and motionless, and was audibly snoring.

Prosecutor Jean-Francois Mayet turned to her and said, “This woman was you, Madame Gisele Pelicot, an ordinary woman,” and praised her courage and desire to make the shame change sides so that the blame fell on the rapists, not the victims.

He said Monday also marked the International Day for the elimination of violence against women and that France had “a long way to go to change our society’s view of rape culture.”

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Gisele Pelicot sat quietly, sometimes staring at the ceiling, as prosecutors detailed how Dominique Pelicot amassed and carefully cataloged a library of 20,000 photos and videos of abuse spanning nearly a decade. Evidence he kept on hard drives, memory sticks and phones led investigators to dozens of men he recruited, but the other 20 men have yet to be identified.

All but one of the defendants are charged with aggravated rape. In his previous statement, he said that they treated him “like a rag doll, like a garbage bag.”

“When did they ask the question of Madame Pelicot’s consent? Not before. Not at that time,” Mayet said.

Citizens who wanted to witness the trial and lined up outside booed some of the defendants who entered the courthouse, chanting “We know you” and “It’s a shame.” Banners hung by campaigners opposite the building read: “20 years each” and “Rape is rape”.

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Gisele Pelicot was greeted outside with cheers and applause.

“We think this is good for him. This is good for us too because it really makes a difference when it comes to feminism,” said Chantal Cremont, a supporter from western France.

“It’s revolutionary in a way. When you say shame changes sides, it really does. “He stands as the victim and turns the tables,” he said. “This is very important.”

Dominique Pelicot had previously tearfully pleaded guilty to the charges against him in court. He said that between 2011 and 2020, all the other defendants understood exactly what they were doing when he invited him to his home in Provence to have sex with his unconscious and unaware wife, and that he divorced her after learning what she had done to him. He had no trouble finding dozens of men to join.

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In testimony in previous weeks, several defendants had told the court that they could not imagine Dominique Pelicot drugging his wife and that they were told he was a willing participant in acting out a salacious fantasy.

Dominique Pelicot’s lawyer, Beatrice Zavarro, said prosecutors’ request for the maximum possible sentence against him was justified “given the seriousness of the facts and the seriousness of the acts of which he is accused.”

“There’s no wonder in asking for 20 years, and personally, that’s what I was expecting. “But for a man who will be 72 in a few days, this is still a shocking and harsh sentence,” he said.

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