Gisele Pelicot’s ex-husband jailed for 20 years in French mass rape trial

The case came to light in 2020, when Dominique was caught trying to take photographs up the skirts of women in a supermarket. Following this, the police discovered more than 20,000 photos and videos on his computer drives, which revealed the secrets he had hidden from his now ex-wife, who he had been married to for 50 years.

Pelicot has since acknowledged that he put tranquilizers in his wife’s food and coffee, which rendered her unconscious for several hours.

The panel of five judges found 47 defendants guilty of rape, two of attempted rape and two guilty of sexual assault.

While Dominique pleaded guilty before the court, many of the other accused denied the charges while alleging that they thought it was a consensual game orchestrated by the couple. The defendants, whose ages are between 26 and 74 years, further argued that it was not rape if the husband approved.

During his testimony, Dominique refuted the other defendants’ allegations, saying, “I am a rapist like the others in this room”.

Amid the trial, Gisele waived her right to anonymity, while approving the showing of horrifying videos of the serial abuse, recorded by her former husband, in court. She said that she hoped this would help other women speak up.

-With inputs from AP and Reuters