A French court today delivered guilty verdicts against more than 40 men involved in the horrific sexual assault and rape of Gisèle Pelicot.
The trial, which has been ongoing for more than three months, has sent shockwaves across the nation and sparked widespread condemnation.
At the center of this disturbing saga is Dominique Pelicot, Gisèle’s ex-husband. He was found guilty of aggravated rape, attempted rape of the wife of a co-accused, and possessing indecent images of his own daughter and daughters-in-law.
Pelicot displayed no emotion as the judge read the verdict, per BBC News.
On the morning of Thursday (December 19), Pelicot was also sentenced to 20 years in prison.
Gisèle’s harrowing testimony revealed a life of unimaginable betrayal. For years, her husband surreptitiously drugged her, rendering her unconscious, and then invited strangers he met online to participate in the abuse. He meticulously documented these heinous acts with thousands of photographs and videos.
Gisèle only learned about the years of abuse after her then-husband was caught taking photos of women’s crotches in a supermarket in late 2020.
A subsequent police search of his electronic devices led to more than 20,000 photos and videos being discovered.
In the videos, investigators counted 72 different abusers. Unfortunately, not all of them could be identified.
Jean-Pierre Marechal, another key figure in the case, was also convicted of aggravated rape and drugging his own wife. He admitted to following Pelicot’s lead, subjecting his wife to repeated sexual assaults and even inviting Pelicot to participate.
The court also found the following individuals guilty of aggravated rape:
- Charly Arbo
- Christian Lescole
- Cyrille Delville
- Florian Rocca
- Jacques Cubeau
- Nicolas Francois
- Simoné Mekenese
- Thierry Parisis
- Patrice Nicolle
- Nizar Hamida
- Boris Moulin
- Dominique Davies
- Jerome Vilela
- Didier Sambuchi
- Cyprien Culieras
- Mathieu Dartus
- Quentin Hennebert
- Cyril Beaubis
- Philippe Leleu
- Jean-Luc LA
- Fabien Sotton
- Karim Sebaoui
- Redouane Azougagh
- Joan Kawai
- Jean-Marc LeLoup
- Vincent Coullet
- Adrien Longeron
- Ahmed Tbarik
- Paul-Koikoi Grovogui
- Omar Douiri
- Husamettin Dogan
- Romain Vandevelde
- Hassan Ouamou
- Redouane El Farihi
- Jean Tirano
- Mohamed Rafaa
- Ludovick Blemeur
- Patrick Aron
- Abdelali Dallal
- Grégory Serviol
Andy Rodriguez was found guilty of attempted rape and aggravating factors, while Hughes Malago was convicted of attempted rape and two aggravating factors. Saifeddine Ghabi was acquitted of rape and attempted rape but found guilty of sexual assault.
Joseph Cocco was found guilty of aggravated sexual assault.
Nicolas Francois and Karim Sebaoui were also convicted of possessing child abuse imagery.
The three-month trial captivated the nation, prompting widespread public outrage and renewed calls for stricter measures to combat sexual violence. Gisèle, now 72, has been praised for her courageous testimony, which has transformed her into a symbol of resilience and a beacon of hope for victims of sexual assault.
