Prosecutors demand maximum sentence of 20 years for Gisele Pelicot's ex-husband in mass rape trial

Gisele Pelicot speaks to media as she leaves the Avignon courthouse, southern France, Sept. 5, 2024. (AP Photo/Lewis Joly, File)

AVIGNON, France -

Content warning: This article contains disturbing content.

A mammoth rape trial in France moved into a new phase Monday as prosecutors began to lay out the verdicts and punishments they want for dozens of men accused of raping Gisele Pelicot while she was drugged and rendered unconscious by her husband.

After hearings stretching over nearly three months, the trial of 51 defendants in the southern city of Avignon is beginning to wrap up. Pelicot's courage during the harrowing proceedings has helped transform her into an icon, even beyond France, for campaigners fighting against sexual violence.

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The public prosecutors started Monday by focusing on Dominique Pelicot, the man that 71-year-old Gisele Pelicot was married to for nearly 50 years and who she believed was a loving, caring husband.

But he has admitted that for years he mixed sedatives into her food and drink so he could rape her and also invite dozens of strangers that he recruited online to also rape her.

Prosecutor Laure Chabaud asked the panel of judges for the maximum possible penalty for aggravated rape -- 20 years -- against the victim's now ex-husband. Dominique Pelicot, who turns 72 this week, stared down at the floor, one hand on the handle of his cane, as the prosecutor spoke.

"Twenty years between the four walls of a prison," she said. "It's both a lot and not enough."

The court is expected to deliver its verdicts by Dec. 20.

Gisele Pelicot, who waived her right to anonymity, has pushed for graphic images that her husband filmed of the rapes to be presented in the courtroom, showing that she was unconscious and inert, audibly snoring.

"This woman was you, Madame Gisele Pelicot, an ordinary woman," said prosecutor Jean-Francois Mayet, turning to her, as he praised her courage and her desire to make shame change sides, so it falls on rapists and not their victims.

He noted that Monday also marked the international day for the elimination of violence against women and said that France faces "a long path for our society to change its view of rape culture."

Gisele Pelicot sat quietly, sometimes staring up the ceiling, as the prosecutors detailed how Dominique Pelicot amassed and carefully catalogued a library of 20,000 photos and videos of the abuse that stretched over nearly a decade. The evidence that he stored on hard drives, memory sticks and phones led investigators to dozens of the men he recruited, although about 20 others haven't yet been identified.

All but one of the defendants are on trial for aggravated rape or attempted rape. In previous testimony, she said they treated her "like a rag doll, like a garbage bag."

"When did they ask the question of Madame Pelicot's consent? Not before. Not during," Mayet said.

Members of the public who hoped to witness the proceedings and lined up outside booed some defendants as they entered the courthouse, yelling, "We recognize you" and "Shame." Banners that campaigners hung opposite the building read "20 years for each of them" and "a rape is a rape."

Gisele Pelicot was greeted outside with cheers and applause.

"We feel it does her good. And it's doing us good, too, because she's really making a difference when it comes to feminism," said Chantal Cremont, a supporter who travelled from western France.

She added: "It's revolutionary in a way. When she says that shame changes sides, it's really that. She's standing as the victim, and she's turning the tables. It's very important."

Prosecutors described the rapes one-by-one that Dominique Pelicot's co-defendants allegedly committed on his unconscious wife and with his help and rules, including that they not make loud noises and first warm their hands so as not to wake her up.

The defendants and alleged rapes are so numerous that the prosecutors were expected to take three days to summarize the evidence and detail the verdicts and sentences they want. In the first cases that the prosecutors focused on Monday, after requesting 20 years imprisonment for Dominique Pelicot, they asked for sentences of 10 years or more for co-defendants also on trial for rape or attempted rape.

Dominique Pelicot has previously tearfully acknowledged in court that he's guilty of the allegations against him. He said all of his co-defendants understood exactly what they were doing when he invited them to his home in Provence between 2011 and 2020 to have sex with his unconscious and unwitting wife, who divorced him after learning what he had done to her. He had no difficulty finding dozens of men to take part.

In previous testimony, many defendants told the court that they couldn't have imagined that Dominique Pelicot was drugging his wife, and that they were told she was a willing participant acting out a kinky fantasy.

Dominique Pelicot's lawyer, Beatrice Zavarro, said the prosecutors' request for the maximum possible penalty against him was justified "in view of the gravity of the facts and the seriousness of the acts of which he is accused."

"There's no surprise in asking for 20 years, and that's what I personally expected. But it's still a shocking and heavy sentence for a man who'll be 72 in a few days," she said.

Prime Minister Michel Barnier, speaking in Paris at a center for women victims of violence, said: "The French have been deeply touched by the incredible courage of Gisele Pelicot. This ongoing trial affects us all."

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AP journalist Sylvie Corbet contributed from Paris.