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THE depraved ex-husband of Gisèle Pelicot, dubbed the Devil of Avignon, wept as he was found guilty on all charges and sentenced to 20 years in a horrifying rape case that shocked the world.
Serial rapist Dominique, 72, could die in jail after admitting to inviting dozens of strangers to force themselves on his drugged wife Gisèle, with all defendants facing more than 400 years in total.
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All 51 defendants including Dominique were convicted in court - with sentences of up to 15 years handed out to his co-defendants.
Detectives listed an astounding 92 rapes committed by 72 men, of which 51 were identified including Dominique, in the horrific small-town case that rocked France.
A total of 47 men were found guilty of rape, two of attempted rape and two of sexual assault.
Gisèle rested her head against the courtroom wall after hearing her ex-husband's prison term - as her family whispered among themselves.
She looked directly at each and every defendant as their verdicts were read out.
Jean-Pierre Marechal, 63, was the second man to hear a verdict - found guilty of attempted rape and aggravated rape against his own wife and given 12 years.
In a disturbing copycat move he followed Dominique's lead, drugging his own wife for five years, raping her and inviting Dominique to join in.
One of the youngest co-defendants Charly Arbo, 30, was found guilty of aggravated rape.
Dozens of others were handed sentences of sometimes over a dozen years - although many were lower than the terms prosecutors had asked for.
A queue of prison vans were lined up outside the court ready to take the men away after sentencing finished.
Wife 'drugged by husband so men could rape her' feared she had Alzheimer's
Pictures showed Gisèle arriving at the courthouse in Avignon for sentencing earlier this morning - smiling defiantly as she strode in.
Protesters gathered outside the court to cheer her on - with the French grandmother becoming a sort of heroine figure in recent months after choosing to go public with the horrifying case.
Countless women have gathered outside court during hearings to cheer her on - with the case even sparking calls for changes to the law in France.
One of the defendants was seen covering his face with a mask, baseball cap and hood as he made his way inside.
Dominique and his 50 co-defendants all attended to hear verdicts and sentencing - sitting in a glass box inside the courtroom.
Gisèle sat next to her youngest son Florian in court - with lawyers dressed in black robes flanking the family.
The trial - focused on a small, sleepy French town - stunned the country as it was revealed how Dominique would claim to be a “good husband” to Gisèle, whom he married in 1971, and a good father to his three children.
Meanwhile behind closed doors, he drugged, raped, and recruited men to abuse his wife for almost a decade from 2011 to 2020.
Dominique's twisted accomplices appeared to be ordinary men, including a gardener, farm driver, tradesman and retired fireman who would rape Gisèle before returning to their everyday lives.
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Dominique was first arrested in September 2020 for secretly filming up women’s skirts at a supermarket in Carpentras.
While in custody, he confessed to a hard drive hidden under a printer with a file called "Abuses" - full of 20,000 images and videos depicting the rapes of his wife.
The incredibly brave Gisèle had to sit through more than three months of horrendous testimony throughout the course of the trial.
This included extracts from Pelicot's collection of homemade abuse videos and images being shown in court.
Hero Gisèle testified: "They regarded me like a rag doll, like a garbage bag."
Meanwhile sick Dominique confessed: "I am a rapist, like the others in this room," and said he may "die alone like a dog".
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When the sicko spoke for the first time in court in the regional capital of Avignon, he said: “I am guilty of what I did – I say to my wife, my children, my grandchildren.
“I regret what I’ve done and I ask for forgiveness, even if it’s unforgivable.”
He added: “She [Gisèle] did not deserve this.”
Dominique has alleged he suffered abuse in his childhood and claimed that he was forced to watch the gang rape of a woman at the age of 14, while working as a building site apprentice.
The sicko added: “You are not born a pervert, you become one.”
JUSTICE IN COURT
Gisèle Pelicot chose to waive her right to anonymity, allowing the full details of the case to be made public.
Her incredible bravery has rallied thousands of people to support her though Gisèle says that she wasn’t looking to create a national conversation.
Instead her choice to have an open courtroom was so that she wouldn’t be stuck in a room with her alleged abuser.
However, she started to receive messages from crowds of people who supported her.
Her lawyer, Stéphane Babonneau, said: "When she started receiving these letters, she felt some kind of responsibility for victims who had suffered similar things."
PELICOT'S 'PUPILS'
Dominique allegedly gave dozens of men strict instructions so they would not wake Gisèle up when they abused her during the night.
These included no aftershave or cigarette odour, all men had to have neat and clipped nails, among other details The Sun has deemed too disturbing to publish.
After parking a few minutes from the couple's home, the attackers would undress in the kitchen so they would not accidentally leave clothes behind in the bedroom.
It is understood that Dominique did not want the men to leave clothing behind as that would rouse his wife's suspicion about the horrific abuse she was allegedly suffering.
He reportedly took part in the rapes, filmed them and encouraged the other men using degrading language, according to prosecutors.
No money exchanged hands.
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DEFENDANTS' DENIALS
The rapists, aged between 21 and 68, include a forklift driver, a fire brigade officer, a company boss, and a journalist.
Some were single, others married or divorced, and some family men.
While most only took part once, some did so up to six times, it has been claimed.
Some of the accused, like Dominique, acknowledged they were guilty of rape.
But many did not - even when faced with video evidence.
Some defendants argued that Dominique's consent covered the consent of Gisèle too.
Others tried to excuse their heinous acts by insisting they hadn't intended to rape anyone when they responded to Dominique's invites.
Dominique was blamed by some of the defendants, saying he had misled them into thinking they were taking part in a consensual kink.
While others suggested that perhaps Dominique's drugged them too - which he denied.
GISELE'S DAUGHTER CAROLINE
In court, Caroline described her father as one of the “greatest sexual predators” of recent years.
The police discovered that there were semi-nude pictures of Dominique's daughter in his “abuses” file.
In the devastating book Et j’ai cessé de t’appeler papa, that translated to And I stopped calling you father, Caroline opens up about her struggle to move on from her father’s crimes.
She details the betrayal that she felt when she first discovered that she had been subject to his alleged abuse.
When shown pictures taken of her by her father, she didn’t recognise herself.
Caroline said: “The sheets reminded me vaguely of something but nothing more.
“I repeated that I didn’t recognise myself.
“No, it’s not me, I said.”
She realised it was a photo of herself was when she noticed a distinctive mole on the right cheek.
Caroline wrote: “How could he have photographed me in the middle of the night without waking me?
“Did he also drug me? Worse still, did he abuse me?”
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AGAINST THE LAW
Protesters have called for a change to the law in France following the horrifying case.
In France consent is not the deciding factor when it comes to someone being found guilty of rape.
Instead the prosecution have to prove that the offender intended to commit rape.
The defence of most of the accused is that they did not go to the Pelicot home with the intention of sexually assaulting Gisèle.
There has also been criticism of the defence lawyers, who have questioned Gisèle's own desires, such as asking whether she ever considered swinging.
How you can get help
Women's Aid has this advice for victims and their families:
- Always keep your phone nearby.
- Get in touch with charities for help, including the Women’s Aid live chat helpline and services such as SupportLine.
- If you are in danger, call 999.
- Familiarise yourself with the Silent Solution, reporting abuse without speaking down the phone, instead dialing “55”.
- Always keep some money on you, including change for a pay phone or bus fare.
- If you suspect your partner is about to attack you, try to go to a lower-risk area of the house – for example, where there is a way out and access to a telephone.
- Avoid the kitchen and garage, where there are likely to be knives or other weapons. Avoid rooms where you might become trapped, such as the bathroom, or where you might be shut into a cupboard or other small space.
If you are a victim of domestic abuse, SupportLine is open Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday from 6pm to 8pm on 01708 765200. The charity’s email support service is open weekdays and weekends during the crisis – messageinfo@supportline.org.uk.
Women’s Aid provides a live chat service - available weekdays from 8am-6pm and weekends 10am-6pm.
You can also call the freephone 24-hour National Domestic Abuse Helpline on 0808 2000 247.
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