French mass rape trial demands maximum punishment for husband who drugged wife

AVIGNON, France (AFP) French prosecutors on Monday sought a prison sentence of up to 20 years for the man accused of enlisting dozens of strangers to rape his heavily sedated wife, in a trial that has shocked France.

Dominique Pelicot has been on trial since September along with 49 other men in the southern city of Avignon for organizing the rapes and sexual abuse of Gisele Pelicot, now his ex-wife. One man is tried in absentia.

The case has shocked France, which like other countries has suffered a series of sexual abuse cases. A prosecutor told the court that the trial was intended to herald a fundamental change in relations between men and women.

“Twenty years is a lot because it is twenty years of a life,” said prosecutor Laure Chabaud.

“But it is both a lot and too little. Not enough given the seriousness of the offenses that were committed and repeated.”

Dominique Pelicot has admitted to all charges related to plying Gisele Pelicot with anti-anxiety drugs between 2011 and 2020, exposing her to abuse by strangers recruited online.

He documented the crimes in photos and videos discovered by police after he was caught filming women’s skirts in public.

“It’s a very emotional moment,” Gisele Pelicot said as she entered the courtroom.

– ‘Fundamental change’ –

Prosecutors should also seek sentences for the other suspects: men aged 26 to 74 from all walks of life.

“This trial shakes up our society in our relationships with each other, in the most intimate relationships between people,” said Jean-Francois Mayet, the other prosecutor.

French society must “understand our needs, our emotions, our desires and, above all, take into account those of others,” he said.

What is at stake, he added, “is not a conviction or an acquittal,” but “fundamentally changing relations between men and women.”

Many suspects argued in court that they believed Dominique Pelicot’s claim that they were participating in a libertine fantasy, in which his then-wife had consented to sexual contact and only pretended to be asleep.

Among them, 33 have also claimed that they were not of sound mind when they assaulted or raped Gisele Pelicot – a defense not supported by any psychological report prepared by court-appointed experts.

“In 2024, we can no longer say ‘since she didn’t say anything, she agreed,’” Chabaud said. “The lack of consent could not be ignored by the defendants.”

Sentencings are expected to take three full days, with prosecutors estimating an average of 15 minutes per suspect.

Most, including Dominique Pelicot, are accused of aggravated rape.

“The facts and personality of each suspect were even taken into account in our sentencing,” Mayet said.

– ‘You were right’ –

As eleven weeks of hearings ended last week, one of Gisele Pelicot’s lawyers, Antoine Camus, called for “truth and justice” for the woman, her children, David, Caroline and Florian, and her grandchildren.

The judges will not rule until the end of December.

Prosecutors sought a 17-year prison sentence against a defendant Jean-Pierre M., 63, who used Dominique Pelicot’s practices against his own wife by raping her twelve times, sometimes in Pelicot’s presence.

On the last occasion, Jean-Pierre’s wife woke up. “I ask my husband what is going on. He says it is to see my underwear and then he gets caught up in his lies,” said his wife, Cilia M., who did not press charges to protect their five children, one of whom is disabled.

Of the other suspects, 35 deny participation in rape.

Observers will be watching to see whether prosecutors demand harsher sentences for those who came to rape Gisele multiple times than for those who responded to Dominique Pelicot’s invitation once.

The trial has made Gisele Pelicot, who insisted the hearings be held in public, a feminist icon in women’s fight against sexual abuse.

Prosecutor Mayet praised the “courage” and “dignity” of Gisele Pelicot, the victim of some 200 repeated rapes, half of which were attributed to her ex-husband.

Mayet thanked her for allowing hearings to be held in public and for showing some of the approximately 20,000 photos and videos that Dominique Pelicot had taken without her knowledge.

“You were right, madam: the last few weeks have shown how important it is to show this, so that the shame changes sides,” he added.