French prosecutors seek maximum 20-year sentence for man in mass rape case

Dominique Pelicot drugged his woman and invited dozens of strangers to their location to rape her implicit a nine-year period.

Prosecutors successful France person demanded the maximum 20-year situation condemnation for a antheral who organised the wide rape of his then-wife for astir a decade.

Dominique Pelicot knocked his woman Gisele Pelicot unconscious with drugs and invited dozens of strangers to maltreatment her successful their household homes successful Paris and the confederate municipality of Mazan betwixt 2011 and 2020.

The 71-year-old admitted to each charges against him successful a proceedings that has scandalised France and drawn worldwide attraction to the contented of intersexual violence.

Forty-nine different men person besides been enactment connected proceedings for participating successful the abuse. Prosecutors are expected to denote what sentences they volition question against the co-accused implicit the adjacent 2 days.

Prosecutors person rejected arguments made by galore of the men, aged betwixt 21 and 68 astatine the clip of the assaults, that they believed they were participating successful a consensual phantasy oregon were not successful their close mind.

Gisele Pelicot carries flowers arsenic she leaves the tribunal successful Avignon, France, connected November 25, 2024 [Alexandre Dimou/Reuters]

Footage played successful tribunal implicit caller weeks, portion of immoderate 20,000 videos and pictures recorded by Dominique Pelicot, showed Gisele lying motionless portion men assaulted her.

“The accused are trying to shirk work by saying they thought Gisele Pelicot consented,” nationalist authoritative Laure Chabaud told the packed tribunal successful the metropolis of Avignon.

“But it’s not possible, today, successful 2024, to see that,” Chabaud added.

Chabaud said that portion 20 years is the maximum condemnation that tin beryllium handed to Dominique, it is “too small successful presumption of the seriousness of the acts that were committed and repeated”.

Prosecutors besides said they were seeking a 17-year condemnation for Jean-Pierre Marechal.

The 63-year-old – who Dominique met connected a now-shuttered chatroom of men soliciting rape worldly – has besides admitted to drugging his ain woman successful bid for some men to rape her.

Sentencing for the accused is expected to instrumentality spot astatine the trial’s decision astir December 20.

Gisele could person demanded the proceedings beryllium kept down closed doors, but alternatively asked for it to beryllium made public.

The 71-year-old said she hoped it would assistance different women talk up and tackle stigma for survivors of intersexual violence.

The proceedings has triggered rallies successful enactment of Gisele successful France, and spurred a statement connected whether to update the country’s rape law, which presently makes nary notation of a request that enactment impact consent.

Instead, prosecutors are required to beryllium a perpetrator’s intent to rape utilizing “violence, coercion, menace oregon surprise”.

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Al Jazeera and quality agencies