Gisele Pelicot faces the harrowing ordeal of going through her trial again as it is revealed that as many as ten defendants are considering appealing the ruling.
Beatrice Zavarro, Dominique Pelicot’s lawyer, said he might be among those considering appealing, which would mean challenging his 20-year prison sentence for orchestrating and committing the mass rape of his now-ex wife.
He is likely to die behind bars.
Under French law, defendants have an automatic right to force a retrial through right of appeal.
Speaking outside court after the sentences were handed out yesterday, Pelicot’s lawyer said her client was ‘stunned’ at the judges’ decision to hand him the maximum sentence, as well as the suggestion that he could be kept in longer if he was still considered a security threat.
Zavarro note that no decision had yet been made on whether Pelicot will lodge an appeal, which he is able to do for the next ten days.
The historic trial in Avignon, southern France, lasted three months and took place before five judges.
51 men were sentenced to more than 400 collective years behind bars with all of Pelicot’s accomplices found guilty of sex crimes with 46 convicted of rape, two of attempted rape ad two of sexual assault.
Gisele Pelicot, the victim of a mass rape orchestrated by her then-husband Dominique Pelicot at their home in the southern French town of Mazan, talks to journalists, surrounded by relatives and her lawyers, after the verdict in the trial for Dominique Pelicot and 50 co-accused, at the courthouse in Avignon, France, December 19, 2024
This court-sketch made on December 19, 2024 in Avignon shows the court during the hearing of the verdict of the court that sentenced Dominique Pelicot to the maximum term of 20 years jail
Gisele Pelicot leaves the courthouse surrounded by French police and journalists after the verdict in the trial for Dominique Pelicot and 50 co-accused, in Avignon, France, December 19, 2024
By appealing, a retrial would involve a jury and would be shorter than the first trial.
However, it would be a further strain for the brave Gisele, 72, who told cameras yesterday the ordeal had been ‘a very difficult test for me’.
Meanwhile her lawyer said in the event of an appeal, she would not have to testify again but would want to take an ‘active part’ in the trial.
At the same time, feminist groups who supported Gisele throughout her trial have slammed the sentencing, claiming it was too lenient.
Gisele’s children also hit out at the ‘low’ sentences for some of the men hwo raped their mother.
They deplored ‘it’s not possible’, as one convicted rapist was handed just five years.
Firefighters, soldiers, lorry drivers, a DJ and a journalist were among those found guilty of raping and sexually abusing Gisele at the behest of her husband over the course of a decade – all without her knowledge.
Defendants cowered behind masks and beneath hoods as they entered the court this morning, with several emerging again this afternoon after being given sentences equivalent to or less than those they have already served.
Serial rapist Dominique Pelicot is likely to die behind bars after being sentenced to 20 years in prison for the campaign of abuse he and dozens of strangers waged against his wife Gisele
In a selfie snapped by her cruel and abusive spouse, Gisele is seen beaming at the camera held by her then-spouse at a sun-soaked marina
Gisele Pelicot arrives in front of the courthouse before a verdict in the Pelicot case is delivered on December 19, 2024 in Avignon, France
A man hiding his face is surrounded by French police, journalists and protesters as he leaves after the verdict in the trial for Dominique Pelicot
Despite the possibility for an appeal, Pelicot could face another shameful trial as investigators believe the depraved 72-year-old may be responsible for the rape and murder of Sophie Narme, a real estate agent, in 1991.
Detectives are probing the cold case that bears a shocking resemblance to an attempted rape of 23-year-old real estate agent known as Marion in 1999.
She fought her attacker off, and Pelicot’s DNA was later recovered at the scene – though he maintains he did not try to rape her.
It comes as psychologists who interviewed Pelicot explained his complex psychological issues, positing that sexual abuse he claimed to have experienced as a child likely ‘sharpened’ traits that led him to become the man who so heinously abused his own wife.
