‘Monster’ husband jailed for raping drugged wife then urging 50 men to abuse her | World | News

Depraved husband Dominique Pelicot has been sentenced to 20 years in prison after being found guilty of the aggravated rape of his wife Gisèle.

Often referred to as “the Monster of Avignon”, Mr Pelicot was also found guilty of the attempted aggravated rape of the wife of one of the co-accused and taking indecent images of his daughter, Caroline, and his daughters-in-law Aurore and Celine.

Mrs Pelicot, 72, who unknowingly suffered years of abuse at the hands of her husband and others, has become a heroine across the globe for her steely determination in standing up to her abusers and shining a light on misogyny and sexual abuse.

Mr Pelicot was on trial with 50 men who the prosecution alleged had raped Mrs Pelicot at the behest of her husband. In total, the 51 men have been jailed for more than 400 years.

Despite Mr Pelicot receiving the maximum sentence possible for the crime, the majority of the men found guilty of raping Mrs Pelicot were handed sentences shorter than asked for by the prosecution.

Hundreds of protesters had gathered outside of the Avignon courtroom in advance of the verdict, with many holding banners with slogans such as: “Shame has changed sides. Has justice?” and: “Thank you, Gisèle.”

Mr Pelicot showed no emotion as the sentence was read out with his ex-wife and daughter in attendance.

Following the verdict, one woman collapsed on the floor, yelling “the bastard only got 20 years!”

The case sparked revulsion in France and beyond and led to soul-searching questions on the issue of consent, misogyny and the handling of rape cases.

Mrs Pelicot took the unusual but widely acclaimed decision to waive her right to anonymity and said: “I want all women who have been raped to say: Madame Pelicot did it, I can too.”

Mrs Pelicot’s daughter has been present throughout the trial and believes that she could have been a victim of her father too after photos of her were found on his electronic devices of her in underwear that she did not recognise.

She has called on her father to tell “the truth”, but Mr Pelicot continues to insist that nothing “untoward” happened to her.

Since the start of the trial on September 2, Mr Pelicot has admitted drugging his ex-wife, raping her, and inviting dozens of men to abuse her for over a decade.

The benign characteristics of the accused shocked many. They included a councillor, a firefighter and prison warden and all lived within a 30 mile radius of the Pelicots.

Despite his guilty plea, French law still mandates a trial to establish the truth behind an offence, unlike in the UK.

The case came to light when Mr Pelicot was arrested in 2020 after being caught by a security guard filming up the skirts of women with his smartphone in a supermarket in Carpentras, a town near Mazan.

Following his arrest police seized his phone and laptop, where they discovered videos recorded by Mr Pelicot of him and others raping his drugged wife.

Outside the courtroom, Mr Pelicot’s lawyer, Beatrice Zavarro said her client was considering an appeal after he received the maximum sentence possible under French law. He and the others convicted have ten days in which to do so.

Patrick Gontard, the lawyer for Jean-Pierre Marechal who was accused of copying Mr Pelicot and was sentenced to 12 years, has said his client will not appeal his sentence and has warned others against doing so.

The president of France’s National Assembly has thanked Gisèle Pelicot for her “courage”.

In a post on X, Yaël Braun-Pivet says Pelicot carries through her “the voice of so many victims. The world is no longer the same thanks to you.”