‘This will change society’: Prosecutors seek maximum 20-year prison sentence for ‘Beast of Avignon’ Dominique Pelicot

PARIS, November 26 — French prosecutors yesterday sought a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison for the man accused of enlisting dozens of foreigners to rape his wife while she was drugged and unconscious, expressing hope that the trial would help change “relations between men and women.” ”.

Dominique Pelicot has been on trial in the southern city of Avignon since September, along with 49 men, for organizing acts of rape and sexual abuse against his ex-wife Gisele Pelicot. One person is being tried in absentia.

The case sparked fear, protests and discussions about male violence in France. On Saturday, tens of thousands of protesters held new demonstrations across the country against violence targeting women.

A prosecutor told the court yesterday that the trial should herald a fundamental change in society.

“Twenty years is too much because that’s 20 years of a life,” prosecutor Laure Chabaud said in requesting the sentence.

“But it is both too much and too little. Very little considering the seriousness of the acts committed and repeated.”

Gisele Pelicot said it was “a very emotional moment”.

Dominique Pelicot pleaded guilty to all charges brought against him. The 71-year-old man gave his wife anti-anxiety medications at their home in Mazan village from 2011 to 2020, then strangers he met online raped and harassed her.

He documented the crimes with photos and videos found by police after he was caught filming women up skirts in public.

‘Before and after’

Prime Minister Michel Barnier described the hearing as a turning point in the country’s efforts to combat violence against women.

“I believe that the Mazan case will mark a before and after,” Barnier said on the occasion of the International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women.

“This case shakes our society, our relationship with each other and the closest relationships between people,” said fellow prosecutor Jean-Francois Mayet.

He added that what is at stake is not “conviction or acquittal” but “fundamentally changing the relations between men and women.”

Many of the defendants argued in court that they believed Dominique Pelicot’s claim that they were participating in a flirtatious fantasy in which his wife consented to sexual intercourse and merely pretended to be asleep.

Of these, 33 claimed that they were not of sound mind when they abused or raped Gisele Pelicot; This defense is not supported by any of the psychological reports compiled by court-appointed experts.

“In 2024, we can no longer say, ‘He accepted because he didn’t say anything,'” Chabaud said. “Lack of consent cannot be ignored by the defendants.”

The demands for punishment were planned to last three days.

Most of the defendants, including Dominique Pelicot, are charged with aggravated rape.

Her lawyer, Beatrice Zavarro, said she was “devastated” by the sentencing request from Dominique Pelicot, who said he wanted to “subjugate a disobedient woman”.

‘Shame changes sides’

Prosecutors sought a 17-year prison sentence for the defendant, Jean-Pierre M., 63, who applied Dominique Pelicot’s practices to his own wife, raping her dozens of times, sometimes in Pelicot’s presence.

Prosecutors requested 10-year prison sentences for 11 defendants; 11 years in prison for two defendants and 12 years in prison for four.

Prosecutors also requested that one person be sentenced to 13 years in prison, while a 4-year prison sentence was also requested for 69-year-old Joseph C., the only person among the defendants who was not tried for rape or attempted aggravated rape.

Some defense lawyers called the sentencing requests “surprising” and “disproportionate”, arguing that the prosecution was under pressure from “public opinion”.

“I’m afraid of what will happen next,” said Louis-Alain Lemaire, a lawyer for four of the defendants.

The hearing turned Gisele Pelicot, who insisted that hearings be held in public, into a feminist icon in women’s fight against sexual abuse.

Prosecutor Mayet praised his “courage” and “dignity”.

She was the victim of nearly 200 rapes, half of which were attributed to her ex-husband.

Mayet thanked him for allowing the hearings to be held in public and for allowing some of the approximately 20,000 photographs and videos taken by Dominique Pelicot without his knowledge to be shown.

“You’re right, ma’am: the last few weeks have shown the importance of showing shame so that it changes sides,” he added.

Decisions and penalties are expected to be announced by December 20. —AFP