Prosecutors seek up to 15-year terms for French mass rape trial defendants

French prosecutors on Tuesday, November 26, demanded sentences of up to 15 years for the remaining co-defendants in the trial of a man charged with enlisting dozens of strangers to rape his wife while she was drugged and unconscious.

On Monday, prosecutors requested a maximum 20-year jail term for Dominique Pelicot, 71, who has been on trial in the southern city of Avignon since September with 49 other men for organizing the repeated rape and sexual abuse of Gisèle Pelicot, now his former wife. One man is being tried in absentia. As in all previous hearings, Gisèle Pelicot was present in court.

The case has sparked horror, protests and a debate about male violence in France, with tens of thousands of protesters staging demonstrations across the country on Saturday against violence targeting women. The decade-long abuse of Gisèle Pelicot by Dominique Pelicot was only uncovered when he was arrested for a separate offence of filming up women’s skirts, leading investigators to discover his meticulously-kept records of the visitors to the family home in the town Mazan.

Prosecutors since Monday have outlined their sentencing demands for the defendants who responded to Pelicot’s invitation, men aged between 26 and 74, most of whom come from ordinary professions ranging from the fire brigade to the media.

Sentencing requests were made for 20 of the defendants on Monday, with those for the remaining 30 set to be wrapped up on Tuesday, paving the way for Dominique Pelicot’s lawyer Beatrice Zavarro to set out her closing argument from Wednesday. Over the two days, excluding Dominique Pelicot himself, the lowest sentence demanded was four years and the highest was 17 years.

‘From another era’

On Tuesday, public prosecutor Laure Chabaud asked for a 14-year sentence for Karim S., 38, who was one of the few defendants whose messaging with Dominique Pelicot was discovered by investigators. For Florian R., 32, who did not admit “intent” and Gregory S., 31, who was “aware of Gisèle Pelicot’s altered state,” Chabaud demanded 13 years in prison.

Some defense lawyers have described the sentencing demands as “staggering” and “out of proportion,” alleging that the public prosecutor’s office was under pressure from “public opinion.”

“I fear what will happen next,” said Louis-Alain Lemaire, a lawyer for four defendants. But public prosecutors say the trial should herald a fundamental change in society.

“In 2024, we can no longer say ‘she didn’t say anything, she agreed,’ that’s from another era,” Chabaud said on Monday.

‘Did not obtain consent’

A 14-year sentence was demanded for Christian L., 56, who was filmed forcibly penetrating Gisèle Pelicot wearing his local fire brigade T-shirt. Joan K. who went to Pelicot’s home twice, should get a 15-year sentence, prosecutors said. Prosecutors asked for Boris M., 37, who claimed during the hearings that he, too, was a victim, to be sentenced to 12 years.

“He says he was a victim of Dominique Pelicot, like Gisèle Pelicot,” prosecutor Jean-Francois Mayet said. But “at no time did he seek or obtain Gisèle Pelicot’s consent,” he said, adding that “in reality, he was pleased with the situation presented to him” by the main defendant.

Chabaud also asked for 12 years for Lionel R., 44, who said he was taking “part in a couple’s fantasy.”

Many of the accused argued in court that they believed Pelicot’s claim that they were participating in a libertine fantasy, in which his wife had consented to sexual contact and was only pretending to be asleep. Among them, 33 have also claimed they were not in their right minds when they abused or raped Gisèle Pelicot, a defense not backed up by any of the psychological reports compiled by court-appointed experts.

‘Courage and dignity’

On Monday, prosecutors requested a 17-year prison sentence for one defendant, Jean-Pierre M., 63, who applied Pelicot’s practices against his own wife to rape her a dozen times, sometimes in Pelicot’s presence.

The trial has made Gisèle Pelicot, who insisted the hearings be held in public, a feminist icon in the fight of women against sexual abuse. Prosecutor Mayet praised her “courage” and “dignity,” thanking her for allowing the hearings to be held in public.

On Monday, Prime Minister Michel Barnier said the trial was a watershed moment for the country’s efforts to combat violence against women, saying it would “mark a before and after.” The verdicts and sentencing are expected by December 20.