Gisèle Pelicot thanks supporters after ‘difficult ordeal’ of rape trial as ex-husband jailed for 20 years

Summary

• Gisèle Pelicot thanks supporters in a speech outside court, after her ex-husband Dominique Pelicot was jailed for 20 years for drugging her and recruiting strangers to rape her
• Pelicot, who waived her right to anonymity, says she never regretted making the trial public “so society could see what was happening”
• Fifty other men have been sentenced alongside Dominique, in a mass rape trial which has shocked France
• Gisèle looked at each man as he was asked to stand, both during the verdicts and sentencings, our correspondent in court reports
• Warning: This page contains distressing details

Live Reporting

Edited by Emily Atkinson and Emily McGarvey, with Laura Gozzi and Andrew Harding reporting from court in Avignon

1. Gisèle Pelicot entered trial an anonymous grandmother – and leaves it a feminist iconpublished at 21:23 19 December 202421:23 19 December 2024Laura Gozzi
   Reporting from AvignonImage source,Getty ImagesAfter 16 weeks, the Pelicot trial is over.This morning’s session was shorter than many had anticipated, with the court president, Roger Arata, whizzing through the guilty verdicts he and four other judges handed down to the 51 defendants, and then separately spelling out the sentencing for each of them.Before midday, this trial – which has captured people in France and beyond – was over.Gisèle Pelicot was just an anonymous retired French grandmother when she first walked into the door of the Avignon tribunal. Few journalists were waiting for her then.Today, when she descended the steps of the courthouse for the last time, she was a feminist icon.Well over a hundred journalists followed her every move as she put her hand to her heart and smiled wordlessly, thanking the crowds of supporters who chanted out her name.When her car drove off, supporters wiped off their tears. Their gratitude for this diminutive but extraordinary woman was palpable.She will be remembered for a long time.We’re ending our live coverage now, but you can read our full write up here. This page was edited by Emily McGarvey and Emily Atkinson. The writers were Laura Gozzi in Avignon, and Ben Hatton, Alex Smith, Ian Aikman and Asya Robins in London.
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2. Dominique Pelicot given maximum sentence as mass rape trial endspublished at 21:19 19 December 202421:19 19 December 2024Image source,EPA
   • Dominique Pelicot, 72, was found guilty of aggravated rape, receiving the maximum sentence of 20 years, after he drugged and abused his then wife, Gisèle Pelicot, and invited dozens of strangers to rape her
   • Judges in the French city of Avignon sentenced him alongside 50 other men, of whom 47 were found guilty of rape, two guilty of attempted rape, and two guilty of sexual assault
   • Sentences for the other men ranged from three to 15 years
   • The trial heard how for almost a decade Gisèle was unknowingly given sedatives by her ex-husband, who then raped her and invited men he recruited online to have sex with her in her bed at home while she was unconscious
   • Gisèle Pelicot, 72, addressed the media after the hearing ended, saying she never regretted waiving her right to anonymity and “opening the doors” of the trial “so society could see what was happening”
   • The Pelicot children were “disappointed” by the “low” sentences handed down, the AFP news agency quoted a family member as saying
   • The trial has shocked France and the wider world, and made Gisèle a feminist icon – she was met by hundreds of supporters as she left the court, many holding placards emblazoned with one of the core slogans of the trial: “Shame changes sides”
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3. In pictures: The last day of the historic mass rape trialpublished at 21:13 19 December 202421:13 19 December 2024Today marks the end of an historic case which saw judges in the French city of Avignon sentence Dominique Pelicot to 20 years in prison for aggravated rape after he drugged and abused his then wife, Gisèle Pelicot.Of the 50 other men who were on trial, 46 were found guilty of rape, two guilty of attempted rape, and two guilty of sexual assault.Here’s a look back at how the morning unfolded, in pictures:Image source,ReutersImage caption,Gisèle Pelicot arrived to the court in Avignon with her lawyers Stéphane Babonneau and Antoine CamusImage source,GettImage caption,Supporters cheered as they awaited the exit of Gisèle Pelicot outside the courthouse after the hearing of the verdictImage source,Benoit PeyrucqImage caption,Benoit Peyrucq’s court sketch shows Gisèle Pelicot listening to the verdictsImage source,EPAImage caption,Lawyer Beatrice Zavarro, who represented Dominique Pelicot, said her client will use the next 10 days to make a decision about whether to appeal the verdictImage source,ReutersImage caption,Gisèle thanked supporters and said she never regretted making the trial public, as she spoke to journalists after the verdictImage source,Getty ImagesImage caption,Hundreds of people cheered and clapped and sang out Gisèle’s name as she descended the steps of the courthouse and departed