Pelicot rape trial latest: Gisèle’s children ‘disappointed’ at abusers’ sentences after ex-husband jailed
Ms Pelicot’s ex-husband Dominique Pelicot admitted to drugging and raping her for almost a decade
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The children of mass rape victim Gisèle Pelicot have condemned the “low” sentences in France’s most shocking rape case which saw 51 men convicted for a total of 428 years.
Ex-husband Dominique Pelicot wept as he became one of 51 men convicted in a mass rape and sexual abuse trial involving Gisèle Pelicot, that saw her drugged and sexually assaulted over a number of years.
But his children believe the verdicts handed down to the guilty men in the case were too mild, a family member said.
“The children are disappointed by these low sentences,” said the family member, asking not be identified, after a court hearing in Avignon.
Prosecutors had requested sentences totalling 652 years, but the sentences handed out by judges came up 224 years short of this.
Gisèle’s grandchildren were at the forefront of her mind throughout the three-month long court case.
“I’m thinking about all the other families affected by this case and the unrecognised victims in these stories that are often in the shadows - you share my struggle,” Ms Pelicot added.
Dominique Pelicot has been jailed for the maximum term of 20 years. He previously admitted that for years, he drugged his wife so he and strangers could abuse her while he filmed it.
‘Mr Everyman’: Who are the 51 men who sexually abused Gisèle Pelicot?
Every word of Gisele Pelicot’s statement outside courtroom where 51 men were sentenced for abusing her- As her husband is jailed for his heinous crimes, we must ask: how many more Gisèle Pelicots are there?
Where are all the men horrified by Gisele Pelicot’s rape trial?
Comment | Gisèle Pelicot’s daughter is dealing with unimaginable horror – as do all ‘forgotten victims’
By now, Gisèle Pelicot is a household name – for all the wrong and most tragic of reasons.
Since September – when she bravely waived anonymity and testified against her husband Dominique – horrific details of how he drugged her, raped her and facilitated her rape by at least 50 other men have slowly come to light.
She has faced her abusers throughout the trial in Avignon, France, attending almost every court date. She has spoken of how “broken” she is and how her decision to be named was to help shift the shame felt by victims of rape and place it rightly on the assailants’ shoulders.
“I am a woman who is totally destroyed, and I don’t know how I’m going to rebuild myself. I’m 72 soon and I’m not sure my life will be long enough to recover from this,” she said of the abuse that spanned nine years.
Emma Clarke writes:
Watch: Men were ‘puppets’ of Dominique Pelicot, lawyer says
51 men sentenced to 428 years in prison - report
The 51 men accused in France’s largest mass rape trial have been sentenced to a total of 428 years, according to French outlet Le Monde.
Of the 51 found guilty - which includes Dominique Pelicot - 47 were convicted of rape, two of attempted rape and two of sexual assault.