French prosecutors demand maximum punishment for Gisele Pelicot’s ex-husband

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

After nearly three months of hearings, the trial of 51 defendants in the southern city of Avignon is beginning to wind down. Pelicot’s courage during her harrowing trial helped turn her into an icon for activists fighting sexual violence, even outside France.

Prosecutors began Monday by reviewing the case of Dominique Pelicot, the man to whom 71-year-old Gisele Pelicot was married for nearly 50 years and whom she considered a loving and caring husband.

But he admitted that for years he drugged her food and drink with sedatives in order to rape her, and invited dozens of strangers he recruited online to also rape her.

Prosecutor Laure Chabot asked the jury to impose the maximum possible sentence for aggravated rape – 20 years – on the victim’s ex-husband. Dominic Pelico, who turns 72 this week, looked at the floor with one hand on the handle of his cane as the prosecutor spoke.

“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.

Gisele Pelicot, who waived her right to anonymity, insisted that graphic images of the rapes filmed by her husband be shown in the courtroom, showing her unconscious, inert and snoring loudly.

“That woman was you, Madame Gisèle Pélicot, an ordinary woman,” said prosecutor Jean-François Maillet, addressing her, praising her courage and her desire to make the shame pass to the other side so that it would fall on the rapists and not on their victims .

He noted that Monday also marks the international day for the elimination of violence against women, and said France has “a long way to go in terms of changing the way our society views rape culture.”

Giselle Pelicault sat quietly, sometimes looking at the ceiling, as prosecutors detailed how Dominique Pelicault collected and painstakingly cataloged a library of 20,000 photographs and videos of abuse that spanned nearly a decade. Evidence he stored on hard drives, memory cards and phones led investigators to dozens of people he recruited, although about 20 others were not identified.

All but one of the accused are on trial on charges of aggravated rape or attempted rape. In previous testimony, she said she was treated “like a rag doll, like a garbage bag.”

“When did they ask the question about Madame Pelicot’s consent? Not before. Not at the right time,” Mayet said.

Members of the public, who had hoped to witness the trial and had lined up outside, booed some of the defendants as they entered the courthouse, shouting “We recognize you” and “Shame.” Banners that activists hung in front of the building read: “Everyone is 20 years old” and “Rape is rape.”

Giselle Pelicot was greeted outside with applause and applause.

“We feel this is good for her. And it’s good for us too, because she’s really making a difference when it comes to feminism,” said Chantal Cremont, a supporter who traveled from western France.

She added: “It’s revolutionary in some ways. When she says shame changes sides, it really does. She plays the role of the victim and changes the situation. This is very important.”

Prosecutors described one by one the rapes that Dominique Pelico’s co-defendants allegedly committed on his unconscious wife, with his help and rules including not making loud noises and warming their hands first so as not to wake her .

The accused and alleged rapes are so numerous that prosecutors were expected to take three days to summarize the evidence and detail the verdicts and sentences they want. In the first cases prosecutors focused on Monday after they asked for a 20-year prison sentence for Dominic Pelico, they asked for sentences of 10 years or more for co-defendants also on trial for rape or attempted rape.

Dominic Pelico had previously tearfully admitted in court that he was guilty of the charges brought against him. He said his co-accused all knew exactly what they were doing when he invited them to his home in Provence between 2011 and 2020 to have sex with his unconscious and unsuspecting wife, who divorced him after finding out. what he did to her. He easily managed to find dozens of men to participate.

In previous weeks of testimony, many defendants told the court that they could not imagine Dominique Pelico drugging his wife and that they were told she was a willing participant acting out a bizarre fantasy.

Dominic Pelico’s lawyer, Beatriz Zavarro, said prosecutors’ request for the maximum possible sentence against him was justified “given the gravity of the facts and the seriousness of the acts with which he is accused.”

“It’s not surprising to ask for 20 years, and personally I expected it. But it is still a shocking and difficult sentence for a man who will turn 72 in a few days,” she said.

Lester and Lespri write for The Associated Press.