Gisele Pelicot rape case: Prosecutors seek maximum sentence for man who invited dozens of strangers to rape his wife

A man who repeatedly drugged his wife unconscious and invited strangers to rape her for years should be given the maximum 20-year sentence in prison, French prosecutors have said.

Dominique Pelicot, 71, has confessed to all the charges and admitted to mixing sedatives into her food and drink so he and others he recruited online could sexually assault her.

He previously told the court: “I am a rapist just like all the others in this room.”

Some 50 other men are also on trial for allegedly participating in the attacks on Gisele Pelicot, 71, who waived her right to anonymity and insisted the trial in southern France was held in public to shame her attackers.

Prosecutor Laure Chabaud has asked the panel of judges for the maximum possible penalty for aggravated rape, 20 years, for Ms Pelicot’s ex-husband, who turns 72 this week.

“Twenty years between the four walls of a prison,” she said. “It’s both a lot and not enough.”

Over the next two days, prosecutors will say what sentences they seek against the co-accused, who have argued they did not realise they were raping Ms Pelicot or had not intended to do so.

Ms Pelicot appeared motionless while the accused abused her in thousands of videos and pictures recorded by her former husband and shown in court over the last few weeks.

“The accused are trying to shirk responsibility by saying they thought Gisele Pelicot consented,” Ms Chabaud said.

“But it’s not possible, today, in 2024, to consider that,” she said, adding the video and pictures clearly showed Ms Pelicot was unconscious and therefore unable to give her consent.

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Around 20 suspects yet to be identified

Prosecutors said Ms Pelicot’s husband had amassed a library of 20,000 photos and videos showing the abuse over nearly a decade.

The evidence helped investigators identify dozens of the men he recruited, though around 20 others are yet to be identified.

Ms Pelicot, who could have demanded the trial be kept behind closed doors, instead asked for it to be held in public in the hopes it would help other women speak up and show victims have nothing to be ashamed of.

Debate around France’s rape law

The trial has sparked a debate about whether France should update its rape law, which does not require sex to involve consent.

Instead, prosecutors must prove a perpetrator’s intent to rape using “violence, coercion, threat or surprise”.

The trial in Avignon continues, with verdicts and sentences expected around 20 December.