Monster of Avignon: Dominique Pelicot given maximum sentence as judge issues verdicts for 50 men in mass rape trial

Dominique Pelicot has been sentenced to 20 years in prison after he was found guilty of all charges against his ex-wife Gisele Pelicot, whom he drugged and allowed other men to rape.

Gisele, 72, was unknowingly given a mix of sleeping pills and tranquillisers by her husband Pelicot, 71, to knock her unconscious, so he could invite men he met online to come to his home in Mazan, near Avignon, to rape her.

The horrific ordeal lasted almost a decade.

He has been found guilty aggravated rape, of the attempted aggravated rape of the wife of one of the co-accused, Jean Pierre Marechal, Cillia, and taking indecent images of his daughter, Caroline, and his daughters-in-law, Aurore and Celine.

Dominique had already pleaded guilty to the charges during the trial.

Prosecutors asked that he get the maximum penalty after he admitted to drugging his wife of 50 years, and allowing other men to rape her whilst he filmed it.

Fifty other men have all been found guilty. Unlike Dominique, many of the men denied the charges.

The French court found 47 of them guilty of rape, two guilty of attempted rape and two guilty of sexual assault.

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The prosecution has requested 10 to 18 years in prison against the 49 defendants also charged with aggravated rape.

One of these accused is on the run and has been tried in absentia, whilst another has been charged for groping.

Jean-Pierre Marechal – who did not rape Gisèle but repeatedly abused his own wife with the help of Pelicot – has also been found guilty of aggravated rape. He has been sentenced to 12 years in prison.

The case that has shocked France to the core only came to light after Dominique was caught filming up women’s skirts in a supermarket in 2020. When questioned, he said he had “acted on urges”.

Police then uncovered more than 20,000 photos of Gisele being assaulted by strangers who were recruited on a forum called ‘Without her knowledge’ on a now-shut-down site.

The abuse dates back to 2011, when the couple was living near Paris, and continued after they moved to Mazan two years later.

Due to the drugging, Gisele began to believe she was suffering from Alzheimer’s disease, whilst the years of abuse caused her to have gynaecological issues