On Thursday, December 19, after three and a half months of hearings, Dominique Pelicot was sentenced to the maximum penalty of 20 years’ imprisonment, as recommended by prosecutors, for the aggravated rape of his ex-wife, Gisèle Pelicot. All 50 co-defendants in this high-profile case were also sentenced, to terms ranging from three years’ imprisonment, two of which were suspended, to a maximum of 15 years detention – although the sentences were lower than those recommended by the prosecutor’s office.
This long-awaited verdict was the climax of an “extraordinary” trial, which began on September 2. The adjective, used by the prosecutor Jean-François Mayet in his closing arguments, is not misused. The Pelicot rape case and trial were unusual in several respects. By the serial nature of the events that were exposed – nearly 200 aggravated rapes, which took place between 2011 and 2020. By the quantity of material evidence gathered by the investigators – some 20,000 photos and videos of Gisèle Pelicot archived by her ex-husband. But also by the number of co-defendants on trial alongside him – 50. Not to mention the perverse personality of 72-year-old Dominique Pelicot, on trial for triple aggravated rape (spousal, gang and chemically subdued) of his ex-wife after 50 years together.
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