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AVIGNON, France (CN) — On Thursday, Dominique Pelicot received a 20-year sentence for drugging his ex-wife, Gisèle Pelicot, and inviting strangers to rape her in their bedroom over the course of roughly 10 years. Over 80 men assaulted her, and 50 were found and stood trial.
They were all found guilty. But as the verdicts rolled in, it became clear that many of the men were handed significantly lighter sentences than what the public prosecutor recommended.
Patrice Nicolle, an electrician who denied he committed rape during testimony, will be behind bars for eight years. He had argued he thought he was participating in a sex game but could sense that something was off. When judges pressed him about why he didn’t go to the police, he said he didn’t want to waste his time. The prosecutor had requested 12 years.
Cyril Beaubis’ mother — who lauded his good character in her testimony — cried in the courthouse after he was slapped with nine years in prison for aggravated rape. During testimony, he shrugged off never seeing Gisèle Pelicot’s face, and said it didn’t matter, since “sex is sex.” The prosecutor had requested 12 years.
Housamettin Dogan told prosecutors that when he first saw Gisèle Pelicot, he thought she was dead. He was convicted with aggravated rape on two counts and will spend nine years behind bars. During testimony, he repeatedly said that he was a victim of Dominique Pelicot as Gisèle Pelicot looked on. The prosecutor had requested 12 years.
On Thursday morning, Roger Arata, the head judge presiding over the case, wasted no time before announcing the verdicts. In a case that has spanned months, and seen some men deliver hours of testimony, the final rulings came like whiplash.
Arata read each man’s name and conviction in a monotone voice, barely took breaks, and stopped just once to take a sip of water. Then he reread each man’s name with the jail times. The entire process lasted barely an hour.
Outside of the courthouse at around 11 a.m., after the verdicts were announced, one protester screamed and cried, holding the gate with both hands and pushing her face through. Others chanted, “Shame on justice.” One sign read, “Your cock in a blender.”
Dominique Pelicot was found guilty of aggrevated rape. He was also convicted of taking intimate photos of his daughter, Caroline Darian, which were found on his hard drive. The photos were a critical theme throughout the trial. Darian believes that she was also drugged and sexually assaulted by her father, and yelled at him numerous times in court to admit it. He didn’t.
When Arata read the verdicts, Florian Pelicot — one of Dominique and Gisèle Pelicot’s sons — reached his arm around her.
It didn’t come as a surprise that Dominique Pelicot received the maximum sentence; even his lawyer, Béatrice Zavarro — who has been nicknamed “the devil’s advocate” — had said that she wouldn’t be surprised with that outcome.
The surprise came in the verdicts of the other men, which many found too lenient.
In September 2020, Dominique Pelicot was caught filming up women’s skirts in a supermarket. Police discovered thousands of photos and videos documenting the rapes of his then-wife, which he kept on an external hard drive in their home. He invited strangers from the internet to come into their bedroom while she was knocked out. In many of the videos, Gisèle Pelicot was snoring and did not react when touched.
Although there were over 80 people identified in the videos, just 50 were found.
The case has sparked a debate on the traditional image of rapists. The men have been called Monsieur-Tout-Le-Monde, meaning Mr. Everyman. They are lorry drivers and security guards, fathers and husbands, young and old, from diverse socio-economic backgrounds.
On Thursday, Gisèle Pelicot, speaking to a crowd of reporters straining to get a boom in range, said, “It is with profound emotion that I’m here, the trial was a very difficult ordeal,” adding that she took on this battle to protect her children and grandchildren.
“I’m also thinking of the many victims who are not recognized, whose stories often remain in the shadows,” she added. “I want you to know that we share the same battle.”
Gisèle Pelicot made the decision to make the trial public.
In France, rape victims have the right to keep trials anonymous. Gisèle Pelicot waived this right in order to shift the blame from the victim to the perpetrator. The decision has resparked conversations on consent, chemical submission and sexual violence. French President Emmanuel Macron has talked about changing rape laws to more explicitly highlight consent amid this case.
Thursday concluded the months of grueling testimony that Gisèle Pelicot endured. She listened to men insist that they didn’t rape her, after the courtroom streamed videos of the assaults in which she appeared almost comatose. She watched wives explain to judges that their partners simply weren’t capable of committing rapes. She listened when her ex-husband told the courtroom that one video, which showed her snoring while being penetrated by two strangers, was filmed on her birthday.
The case has exposed what rape victims face in court, and why so many choose not to come forward. It has magnified an interrogation process that can be grueling. Gisèle Pelicot has previously said that the trial made her understand why some rape victims choose not to come forward.
But she left the courthouse on Thursday to roaring applause. Hundreds of people waited outside of the gates of the Avignon Judicial Court for hours, just to get a glimpse of her. They chanted “Merci Gisèle” as she was led through the crowd.
The case has already inspired other rape victims to make their trials public, too.
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