Prosecutors seek maximum sentence for Gisele Pelicot’s ex-husband in French rape case

AVIGNON, France — France’s massive rape trial entered a new phase Monday as prosecutors began handing out the convictions and sentences they want for dozens of men accused of raping Gisele Pelicot while her husband drugged and abused her. rendered her unconscious.

After nearly three months of hearings, the trial in the southern city of Avignon is beginning to wind down as prosecutors take stock of the sentences they want to impose on the 51 defendants.

They started Monday by focusing on Dominique Pelicot, the man to whom 71-year-old Gisele Pelicot was married for nearly 50 years. He admitted that for years he drugged her food and drink with sedatives in order to rape her, and invited dozens of strangers to rape her too.

Prosecutor Laure Chabot asked for the maximum possible sentence for aggravated rape – 20 years – for Giselle Pelicot’s now ex-husband. As the prosecutor spoke, the 72-year-old man looked at the floor with one hand on the handle of his cane.

“Twenty years in prison,” she said. “This is both too much and not enough.”

The court is expected to render a verdict by December 20.