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Reuters

Agence France-Presse

A French court found all 51 defendants guilty on Thursday in a drugging-and-rape case that horrified the world and transformed the victim, Gisele Pelicot, into a stirring symbol of courage and resilience.
Pelicot’s ex-husband of 50 years, Dominique Pelicot, had pleaded guilty to drugging her repeatedly for almost a decade to rape her, and to offer up her unconscious body for sex to dozens of strangers he had met online, while videoing the abuse.
A panel of five judges sentenced him to the maximum 20 years in jail, as requested by prosecutors.
The lawyer for Dominique Pelicot said on Thursday that her client was considering lodging an appeal.
He, as well as all the other 50 men found guilty in this trial, has 10 days to decide on this.
Tension was palpable in the courtroom at the start of the hearing, where a heavy police presence was deployed.
Many defendants arrived with their bags packed ready for prison. One of them was in tears as he hugged his companion before entering the courtroom.

The court imposed generally shorter terms than the four-to-18 years demanded by the prosecution for the other defendants, almost all of whom were accused of raping the comatose Gisele Pelicot.
In all, the court found 47 of the defendants guilty of rape, two guilty of attempted rape and two guilty of sexual assault.
A cheer went up outside the court in the southern French city of Avignon among the victim’s supporters when news of the first guilty verdicts filtered out.
Dominique Pelicot, 72, pleaded guilty to the charges during the three-month trial and apologised to his family.
He also said that all the strangers he invited into his house knew that his now ex-wife was unaware of what was happening to her.
Many of the accused had denied the charges, saying they thought it was a consensual sex game orchestrated by the couple and arguing that it was not rape if the husband approved.
Gisele, who is also 72, waived her right to anonymity during the trial and demanded that horrifying videos of the serial abuse, which were recorded by her former husband, should be seen in court, saying she hoped this would help other women speak up.

The trial has triggered protest rallies around France in support of Gisele, and spurred soul searching, including a debate on whether to update France’s rape law, which at present makes no mention that sex should involve consent.
Gisele stared down her abusers with steely determination in the packed courtroom day after day, scoffing at any claim that she might have been a willing participant.
“I’ve decided not to be ashamed, I’ve done nothing wrong,” she testified in October. “They are the ones who must be ashamed,” she said.
The Pelicots’ children, David, Caroline and Florian, arrived in court to hear the verdict alongside their mother. The siblings have spoken out forcibly against their father.
The siblings believe the verdicts handed down by a French court to the guilty men in the case were too mild, a family member told AFP.
“The children are disappointed by these low sentences,” said the family member, asking not be identified.


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France

Gisele Pelicot (middle) arrives at the criminal court where her husband Dominique Pelicot is on trial in Avignon. Photo: EPA-EFE

One of the defendants arrives at the courthouse in Avignon. Photo: AFP

People gather in support of Gisele Pelicot before the verdict, in front of the courthouse in Avignon, France. Photo: Reuters

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A French man was sentenced to 20 years in jail for raping his teenage daughter. Photo: Shutterstock

Gisele Pelicot leaves the criminal court in Avignon, France, on November 20. Photo: EPA-EFE

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Former French president Nicolas Sarkozy. Photo: Reuters

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An empty chair inside a sex worker’s booth in Antwerp, Belgium. File photo: AP

‘Family destroyed’: children of French mass rape victim speak of heartbreak

Caroline Darian, the daughter of Gisele Pelicot, talks to journalists during a break in the rape trial of her father Dominique Pelicot with 50 co-accused, at the courthouse in Avignon, France on Monday. Photo: Reuters

Gisele Pelicot leaves the courthouse in Avignon, France on Monday. Photo: AFP

David, one of the two sons of Frenchwoman Gisele Pelicot, in Avignon, France on Monday. Photo: Reuters 

Co-defendants leave the courthouse after a hearing in the trial of Dominique Pelicot in Avignon, France on Monday. Photo: AFP

Gisele Pelicot’s sons David, left, and Florian leave the courthouse in Avignon, France on Monday. Photo: AFP

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World

Europe

Judges found Dominique Pelicot guilty, and also convicted a first batch of 20 out of 50 co-defendants in the case


Judges found Dominique Pelicot guilty, and also convicted a first batch of 20 out of 50 co-defendants in the case.
