In what is being called the worst sex abuse case in modern French history, Dominique Pelicot, a 72-year-old retired electrician, has been sentenced to 20 years in prison for drugging his then-wife Gisèle and inviting dozens of men to rape her in their home over nearly a decade. The historic trial of 51 men, held in public at Gisèle’s request so that “shame could change sides”, delivered guilty verdicts for all the accused, who ranged in age from 26 to 74 and included a nurse, a soldier, a journalist, a prison warden and delivery drivers.
Gisèle Pelicot Hailed as Feminist Hero
Gisèle Pelicot, now 72 herself, looked on with her children as the men’s sentences were read out. She has been praised worldwide as a feminist icon for her bravery in opening the doors to this trial, with members of the public outside the courthouse in Avignon cheering daily for the woman determined to change what she called the “macho, patriarchal society that trivializes rape.”
Dominique Pelicot’s Appalling Crimes
The court heard the disturbing details of how Dominique Pelicot crushed sleeping pills and anti-anxiety medication into his wife’s food and invited men to rape her while she was comatose over a nine-year period starting in 2011, after the couple had retired to the village of Mazan in Provence. When incriminating videos were found on his computer in a folder labeled “abuse”, Dominique Pelicot admitted to the charges, telling the judges: “I am a rapist.”
I am a rapist.
– Dominique Pelicot’s chilling confession in court
Stiff Sentences for Pelicot’s Accomplices
Dominique Pelicot was also convicted of secretly filming his adult daughter and daughters-in-law in bathrooms and bedrooms and distributing the images. The 50 other men on trial alongside him received sentences ranging from 20 years for a serial rapist who attacked Gisèle six times, to 12 years for a software technician who admitted to being her “rapist” and “torturer.”
- Charly Arbo, 30, ex-vineyard worker: 13 years for raping Gisèle 6 times
- Romain Vandevelde, 63, ex-forklift driver: 15 years for 6 rapes while HIV+
- Cédric Grassot, software tech: 12 years, told Gisèle “I was your rapist”
- Jean-Pierre M., 63, ex-trucker: 12 years for also drugging & raping own wife
A Watershed Moment for France
This unprecedented case has sent shockwaves through France and sparked a national conversation about sexual violence, consent, and the treatment of rape survivors. Gisèle Pelicot’s courage in pursuing justice so publicly is being hailed as a major turning point in French society’s handling of sex crimes. As one supporter outside the court put it: “This trial is a before and after. Things will never be the same now that Gisèle has opened this door.”
