Dominique Pelicot, convicted in France of drugging and raping his wife, won’t appeal sentence
His lawyer, Beatrice Zavarro, says he wants to spare his wife, Gisele Pelicot, further trauma
The Frenchman convicted of drugging and raping his then wife and soliciting dozens of men to do the same for more than a decade will not appeal his verdict, his lawyer said Monday.
Dominique Pelicot was convicted and jailed for 20 years earlier this month after a trial that horrified France and beyond, while 50 co-defendants were also convicted and handed various sentences of between three and 15 years.
Gisele Pelicot was hailed as a hero for her courage and dignity throughout the three-month trial.
“Dominique Pelicot has taken the decision to not appeal the verdict,” said lawyer Beatrice Zavarro.
An appeal “would force Gisele [Pelicot] to undergo a new ordeal, new confrontations, which Dominique Pelicot refuses” to do, Zavarro said, adding that “it is time to finish judicially”.
Monday is the last day for the defendants to file appeals, and 17 of Pelicot’s co-defendants have already done so, according Zavarro.
Following the guilty verdicts at the end of December, one of Gisele Pelicot’s lawyers said she had no fear of a new trial.
