WARNING: This article may apply to people who have experienced sexual violence or know someone who has.
On Thursday, a French court sentenced Gisèle Pelicot's ex-husband to a maximum of 20 years in prison for drugging her, raping her and inciting other men to rape her while she was unconscious, a process that lasted almost a decade.
The verdict against Dominique Pelicot came after he was found guilty of all charges. At 72 years old, that could mean he spends the rest of his life in prison.
Roger Arata, chief judge of the court in Avignon, read out the verdicts against Pelicot and 50 other men one by one, which took more than an hour.
“You are therefore found guilty of aggravated rape of Mrs. Gisèle Pelicot,” the judge announced, going through a long list of names.
The fans “gave me strength”: Gisèle Pelicot
Gisèle Pelicot became a feminist hero both at home and abroad because she waived her right to anonymity and stood up to her perpetrators in court. She expressed support for other victims of sexual violence whose cases do not attract as much attention and “whose stories remain untold.”
“I want you to know that we are fighting the same fight,” she said.
As activists against sexual violence gathered outside the courthouse, the 72-year-old expressed “deep gratitude to the people who supported me.”
“Your messages touched me deeply and gave me the strength to come back every day and endure these long, daily interrogations,” she said. “This process has been a very difficult ordeal.”
Pelicot said she had her grandchildren in mind during more than three months of hearings, saying, “They're the ones I fought this fight for, too.”
In her final remarks before leaving, amid a huge media crowd, she said: “I wanted the whole of society to witness the debates that took place here. I have never regretted making this decision. I trust that we are able to present ourselves together towards a future in which everyone, women and men, can live in harmony, with respect and mutual understanding. Thank you.”
Dominique Pelicot's lawyer, Béatrice Zavarro, said she would consider a possible appeal, but also expressed hope that Gisèle Pelicot would find solace in the court's rulings.
“I wanted Ms. Pelicot to be able to walk away from these hearings peacefully, and I believe that the sentences will provide relief for Ms. Pelicot,” she said.
Source of computer evidence
Dominique Pelicot has detailed how, over the last decade of their relationship, he habitually sedated his wife of 50 years so that he and dozens of strangers he met online could rape her while she was unconscious.
Surprisingly, he easily recruited his alleged accomplices. Many had jobs. Most are fathers. They came from different backgrounds, the youngest was 20 years old and the oldest was 70 years old.
A total of 50 men, including Dominique Pelicot, were put on trial for aggravated rape and attempted rape. Another man was tried for aggravated sexual assault.
“They saw me like a rag doll, like a garbage bag,” Gisèle Pelicot testified in court.
Dominique Pelicot's meticulous recording and cataloging of encounters – police found more than 20,000 photos and videos on his computer drives, in folders titled “violence”, “her rapists” and “lonely night” – provided investigators with a wealth of evidence and helped them pursue their case. them accused.
This also sets this case apart from many others where sexual violence goes unreported or goes unprosecuted due to weaker evidence.
Dominique Pelicot, as he himself admitted in court, invited dozens of men he recruited online to his home to rape his wife, Gisèle Pelicot, whom he drugged. A total of 51 men are accused, and their sentences are expected to be handed down later this week. CBC's Sarah Leavitt spoke to Mazan residents about the impact of the trial in France.
Gisèle Pelicot and her lawyers successfully fought to ensure that shocking video footage and other evidence could be heard and viewed in open court to show that she felt no shame and was visibly unconscious during the alleged rapes, undermining claims by some defendants that she may have been faking sleep or you were even a willing participant.
Gisele Pelikot he said earlier that he fights on behalf of “all people around the world, women and men, who are victims of sexual violence.”
“Look around you: you are not alone,” she said.
Help is available for anyone who has experienced sexual violence through crisis lines and local support services through Canadian Ending Violence Association Database.
Help is available to anyone affected by domestic or intimate partner violence through: crisis lines and local support services.
If you are in immediate danger or concerned for your safety or the safety of others nearby, call 911.