Dominique Pelicot has been sentenced to the maximum penalty, 20 years in prison, for the aggravated rape of his ex-wife Gisèle Pelicot, in the Mazan rape trial , which ends today in Avignon . The man was accused of drugging his wife for nearly a decade to rape her and have her raped by dozens of men.
The other fifty defendants were also sentenced , accused of having raped the woman at the invitation of her husband.
"Mr. Pelicot, you are found guilty of aggravated rape of Gisèle Pelicot," said the president of the Vaucluse criminal court, Roger Arata.
Dominique Pelicot, 72, stood up and listened attentively to the judge, but without expressing any particular emotion. He is also found guilty of having collected images of his wife and daughter without their knowledge. The entire family appeared in court at the Palais de Justice in Avignon.
All 51 defendants in the trial were therefore found guilty. Most of them were found guilty of "aggravated rape in a meeting and administration" of drugs to Gisèle Pelicot.
The judge listed the various sentences one by one : in addition to the 20 years in prison for her husband Dominique, the sentences imposed by the Avignon court for the others range from 3 to 13 years in prison.
Most of the convicted defendants will also be registered in Fijais, a French database that includes perpetrators of sexual or violent crimes.
(Online Union)
