Gisèle Pelicot rape trial: Ex-husband Dominique jailed for 20 years

In court on Thursday, Dominique Pelicot – who had already confessed to his crimes – was found guilty of aggravated rape.

He was also found guilty of the attempted aggravated rape of the wife of one of his co-accused, Jean-Pierre Marechal. Marechal – who has been described as Dominique’s “disciple” as he drugged and raped his own wife for years and invited Dominque to do the same – was jailed for 12 years.

Dominique Pelicot was also found guilty of taking indecent images of his daughter, Caroline Darian, and his daughters-in-law, Aurore and Celine.

Caroline – who was in court on Thursday – previously told the trial she felt she was the “forgotten victim” as, unlike her mother’s case, there was no record of the abuse she is convinced was inflicted on her. Dominique denied drugging and abusing his daughter.

After the verdicts, Dominique’s lawyer said her client was “somewhat dazed” by his sentence and would consider whether to appeal. He has 10 days to decide whether to do so.

Of the 50 co-defendants, 46 were found guilty of rape, two guilty of attempted rape, and two guilty of sexual assault. Several of them have already spent some years in jail as they were arrested when police conducted their initial investigation in 2021, and will therefore walk out relatively soon.

Most of the men on trial had denied that what they did was rape.

They argued they did not realise Gisèle Pelicot was unconscious and therefore did not “know” they were raping her – an argument which sparked a nationwide discussion about France’s legal definition of rape.

Their jail terms range from between three and 15 years – less than what prosecutors had demanded.

In a statement to AFP news agency, the Pelicot children said they were “disappointed” by the “low sentences”.