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The mass rape trial that shocked France is entering its final phase in the coming days.
For the past 10 weeks, the country has been gripped by the confession of 71-year-old Dominique Pélicot in court that he drugged his then-wife Gisele for almost a decade and invited dozens of men to rape her, as well as raping her himself.
The legal team from Ms. Pelicot’s legal team will make their closing statements on Tuesday, followed by the defense, the BBC reports.
The trial of Mr. Pélicot and 50 other men began in September in the southern city of Avignon.
He faces 20 years in prison if found guilty.
Ms. Pélicot became a symbol of the fight against sexual violence in France because she agreed to give up her anonymity in the case, allowed the trial to be public and appeared openly before the media.
The case began when an insurance agent caught Mr. Pélicot in 2020 filming a video up women’s skirts in a supermarket, according to court documents.
The police searched the house and electronic devices of Mr. Pélicot and found thousands of photos and videos of men engaging in sexual relations with Ms. Pélicot while she lay unconscious on their bed.
With the videos, the police were able to track down most of the 72 suspects they were looking for.
Mrs. Pélicot and her husband of 50 years had three children. When they retired, the couple left the Paris region and moved to a house in Mazan, a small town in Provence.
When officers called her in for questioning in late 2020, she initially told them her husband was a “great guy,” according to legal documents. Then they showed her some photos.
She left her husband and they are now divorced.
Last month, Ms Pélicot spoke of her husband’s “immeasurable” betrayal and offered her condolences to the wives, mothers and sisters of his 50 co-defendants, French media reported.
I always wanted to pull you up, towards the light, she said addressing her ex-husband. “You chose the depth of the human soul”.
She spoke of her husband’s “immeasurable” betrayal, and expressed sympathy with the wives, mothers and sisters of his 50 co-defendants, according to French media.
The five-judge panel’s verdict is expected on December 20.
– With the Associated Press
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