The ‘Monster of Avignon’ and the 50 men who joined him in abusing his wife Gisèle Pélicot have been sentenced today. As Gisèle inspires people across the world with her bravery, we take a look at why the public and the media were allowed into the unprecedented trial
Gisèle Pélicot is the brave survivor behind the mass rape trial that sickened the world.
Today, the mother’s ex-husband Dominique Pélicot, who orchestrated a near decade of perverted sexual violence against her, cried as he was jailed for 20 years.
A total of 50 accomplices were found guilty on charges including aggravated rape and sexual assault, with sentences ranging between 13 and five years (with two suspended) in prison. The men who assaulted the 72-year-old came from all walks of life in France, from a firefighter to a soldier.
As a victim of sexual abuse, Gisèle was entitled to anonymity for life but she bravely waived this to open the trial of 51 men up to the public and the media.
Explaining her reasoning, Gisèle, who has left women across the world in awe of her bravery, said: “I want any woman who wakes up one morning with no memories of the night before to remember what I said. So that no more women can fall prey to chemical submission. I was sacrificed on the altar of vice, and we need to talk about it.”
Pelicot’s horrific crimes came to light when he was caught videoing up unsuspecting women’s skirts in 2020. Police searched the rapist’s home and found thousands of pornographic photos and videos on his phone, laptop and USB stick.
Gisèle went onto learn the husband, who she thought was ‘caring and attentive,’ had been crushing sleeping tablets and anti-anxiety medication into her food and drinks and inviting strangers to rape her over a nine-year period from 2011 to 2020.
Sitting on a bench resting their heads on a wall, the mother and her children watched the 51 defendants today as they were sentenced. Her monster ex-husband was found guilty of aggravated rape, the attempted aggravated rape of the wife of one of the co-accused and taking indecent images of his daughter, Caroline, and his daughters-in-law, Aurore and Celine, showing no emotion when the verdicts were announced.
Gisèle’s lawyer, Stéphane Babonneau, told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme his client had decided to speak out to show other women ‘they have a strength in them that they can’t even imagine and that they need to trust themselves. That’s her message’. He added that the sexual assault survivor did ‘not want to be considered an icon’.
Allowing the unprecedented trial to be reported on fully has been credited with shaking up attitudes towards rape in France. One woman who came to watch the trail in Avignon said: “She wanted shame to change sides and it has. Gisèle turned everything on its head. We weren’t expecting a woman like this.”
The couple’s eldest child David, who has younger siblings Caroline and Florian, said they no longer had any family photos because they “got rid of everything linked to my father there and then”.
If you are affected by the issues raised in this article, contact SARSAS on info@sarsas.org.uk or reach out for NHS advice on help after rape or sexual assault.
