Avignon court hands 20‑year sentence in shocking rape case
A French court decided on Thursday regarding Dominique Pelicot. The man was sentenced to 20 years in prison for all charges against him, including the rapes of his ex-wife. This is the maximum sentence.
The court in Avignon on Thursday found Dominique Pelicot guilty of repeatedly drugging and raping his then-wife, Gisele, and offering her, while she was unconscious, to dozens of strangers for sexual intercourse.
Prosecutors demanded the maximum sentence for Pelicot, which is 20 years of imprisonment. That is the sentence the man received.
The 72-year-old Pelicot will likely spend the rest of his life in prison.
The sentenced man's wife attended the verdict reading
The other 50 co-defendants also received guilty verdicts.
The case concerning mass rapes shook France. Gisele Pelicot—the sentenced man's wife—demanded open hearings to break the shame and silence surrounding victims of sexual violence and to help other women who were given the "date rape pill."
Gisele Pelicot attended the verdict reading. As emphasized by the AP agency, the woman faced the defendants.
