Warning: This article contains discussion of rape which some readers may find distressing
Earlier this year, 72-year-old Gisèle Pelicot appeared before a judge and jury at a court in Avignon, France, where her ex-husband, Dominique Pelicot, stood on trial after admitting to drugging her before inviting dozens of strangers to rape her unconscious body.
He was apprehended earlier this year after French authorities discovered records of the heinous assaults against the mother-of-three inside the Pelicot property, indicating that Dominique had filmed every single interaction.
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Fifty other men - with ages ranging between 26 and 74 and a mix of professions, including a police officer and a journalist - stand accused of having abused Gisèle between 2011 and 2020, after her husband drugged her with a mix of sedatives and anti-anxiety medication before he invited the strangers to their Mazan, Provence, home via online chatrooms.
And now, a verdict has been reached...
A French court has now declared the ex-husband of Gisèle Pelicot, Dominque Pelicot, guilty of rape and all other charges against him.
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Dominque is also found guilty of the attempted aggravated rape of the wife of one of the co-accused.
He has been sentenced to 20 years.
It is believed that over 80 individuals - whom Dominique had allegedly reached out to online - took part in the crimes.
Over 20,000 images of Gisèle being raped and abused since 2011 were found.
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In sexual assault cases, the victim is entitled to automatic anonymity in the view of the press, which lasts a lifetime.
Unusually, however, Gisèle opted to waiver her anonymity from the moment her husband was arrested and instead hoped for 'complete publicity until the end'.
Gisèle has previously described herself as a woman who has been 'totally destroyed by what happened to her', issuing an important message to fellow sexual abuse survivors.
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"I wanted all woman victims of rape - not just when they have been drugged, rape exists at all levels – I want those woman to say: Mrs Pelicot did it, we can do it too," she bravely stated.
"When you’re raped there is shame, and it’s not for us to have shame – it’s for them."
Adding to her warning, she continued: "The profile of a rapist is not someone met in a car park late at night. A rapist can also be in the family, among our friends.
"When I saw one of the accused on the stand last week who came into my bedroom and house without consent. This man, who came to rape an unconscious, 57-year-old woman – I am also a mother and grandmother ... I could have been his grandmother."
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If you have been affected by any of the issues in this article and wish to speak to someone in confidence, contact the Rape Crisis England and Wales helpline on 0808 500 222, available 24/7. If you are currently in danger or need urgent medical attention, you should call 999.
Topics: Crime, News, World News
Rhiannon Ingle