France mass rape trial: Dominique Pelicot found guilty, sentenced to 20 years in prison
Gisele Pelicot, who was drugged by her former husband who then invited men to rape her
Dominique Pelicot was found guilty by a French court of five judges on Thursday (Dec 19) of drugging and the mass rape of his then-wife Gisèle Pelicot.
The 72-year-old man has been handed the maximum sentence of20 years in prison for his charges. He had been accused ofrepeatedly raping and enlisting strangers to abuse his heavily sedated wife for over a decade.
Pelicot was also found guilty of the attempted aggravated rape of the wife of one of the co-accused, Jean Pierre Marechal, Cillia, and taking indecent images of his daughter, Caroline, and his daughters-in-law, Aurore and Celine.
As the verdict was announced,Dominiquebent down and startedcrying in court.
Watch:France: Mass rape shocks nation, support pours in for survivor Gisele
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Apart from Dominique, all 50other menhave also beenfound guilty of the charges against them, including some who pleaded not guilty. However, some of them were given shorter sentence periods than what was asked by the prosecutors.
For instance, Jacques C. has been awarded a 5-year suspended prison sentence, allowing him to walk free today itself. As the judges read out the judgment, some gasps could be heard inside the courtroom.
Cyrille D, Lionel R and Boris M were given just eight years behind bars, although the prosecutors had asked for a 12-year jail term. Another defendant, named Redouan A. was found guilty, but the judge reduced his sentence owing to his diagnosis as schizophrenic.
Also read:France mass rape case: Accused man, a father of three, admits to sexual assault of Gisele Pelicot
At least five of the accused won't be sent to prison immediately owing to their bad health. “Several of the convicted men will not be taken to prison immediately because of their health. A few more days of freedom while we find a suitable prison,” Presiding Judge Roger Arata said.
On the other hand, some of the accused were given harsher sentences spanning over a decade. Romain V., who visited the Pelicot house six times, was awarded a 15-year prison sentence. Charly A., who also visited six times, was given 13 years.
(With inputs from agencies)