The Vaucluse Criminal Court in Avignon, France, sentenced 72-year-old Dominique Pelicot to 20 years in prison for raping and having at least 50 men rape his own wife, Gisele Pelicot, whom he drugged in the meantime.
Most of the other defendants, men who raped Gisele, were sentenced to between 3 and 15 years in prison; 2 were found guilty of sexual assault, 2 of attempted rape, and the 47 defendants, including Pelicot, of aggravated rape. Meanwhile, 2 defendants had their sentences suspended and the court ruled that the 2 suspects, who were sentenced to 8 and 6 years in prison, would be released due to their health conditions and sent to a special prison.
Dominique Pelicot’s lawyer said that her client will use the 10-day period for appeal to decide whether to appeal the decision.
A group of people criticized that the defendants were given lower sentences than prosecutors requested and protested outside the court, chanting, “Where is the justice?”