France Prosecution demands maximum sentence for ex-husband in Avignon trial

Because he drugged and abused his wife for years and had her raped by strangers, the public prosecutor's office has demanded the maximum sentence of 20 years in prison for the main defendant in the Avignon abuse trial.

"20 years of a life is not nothing," said public prosecutor Laure Chabaud. "It is both a lot and too little given the seriousness of the acts that were committed and repeated." Dominique Pelicot had confessed to the acts against his then wife Gisèle in court.

Gisèle Pelicot estimates that she was raped around 200 times over a period of almost ten years. In addition to her ex-husband, who drugged her, 50 men are on trial - most of them also accused of aggravated rape. Investigators suspect that around a dozen other men were involved in the crimes, but they have not been identified.

Prosecutor Chabaud pointed out that Pelicot himself had admitted in court that he had acted without his wife's consent in order to subjugate an emancipated woman, according to his testimony. There had been no boundaries for him, not even the family connection.

Investigators had also found naked pictures of his daughter and his daughters-in-law at Pelicot's home, which were allegedly taken without their knowledge. The daughter fears that she was also drugged and abused by her father. The main defendant denied this several times in court.

"We have to question his sincerity," said public prosecutor Chabaud. Pelicot should be held fully accountable for his actions. The future looks bleak. The senior citizen had been attested a high criminal risk, he did not have sufficient self-reflection, he lacked empathy, he was stubborn and cold.

Prosecutor Jean-François Mayet spoke of an extraordinary trial, both in terms of the extent of the crimes and their "unimaginable seriousness". Mayet added: "This trial has shaken our society in its relationship with our neighbor." It is therefore about more than just conviction or acquittal.

SDA