Pelicot rape trial: Gisèle ‘never regretted decision to go public’ as sobbing ex-husband jailed for 20 years

Gisèle Pelicot has left the courtroom in Avignon, southern France.

Ms Pelicot appeared calm as she walked down the steps of the courthouse which she has visited almost every day since September, to hear the devastating details of crimes committed against her.

She held herself with dignity as she exited the courts and was swarmed by her supporters who have spent all morning singing, chanting and holding placards.

They shouted “merci Gisèle” and “bravo Gisèle”, before she departed for the final time in a grey car.

As she was driven away, emotional crowds sang songs including with the lyrics: “the women are enraged”.

The sentences of the 51 men charged with rape and other offences related to the campaign of abuse against Gisèle Pelicot, orchestrated by her ex-husband Dominque Pelicot, are being revealed on Thursday.

Mr Pelicot has been sentenced to 20 years in prison for drugging his ex-wife, raping her, and inviting men to abuse her while unconscious for nearly a decade. He has also been found guilty of taking indecent images of his daughter and daughters-in-law.

While the 72-year-old had admitted the charges against him, most of the 50 other men on trial had denied charges of rape. They largely reside within the towns and villages around the southern French town of Mazan, where the Pelicots lived during their marriage.

Most have now been found guilty of aggravated rape and sentenced to time in prison. Here’s a full list of the defendants and their convictions:

Albert Toth reports:

Of her decision to waive her anonymity, Ms Pelicot said she “wanted to ensure that society could actually see what was happening and I never regretted this decision”.

She said she has “faith in our capacity to collectively take hold of our future”.

Ms Pelicot added that she respects the verdicts and sentences of the court.

Gisèle Pelicot has spoken with members of the press after 51 men were convicted todday in France’s largest mass rape case.

“I’m very emotional,” she says. “It’s with a lot of emotion that I’m here to make a statement. This case was a very difficult test for me and I’m thinking first and foremost of my three children.

“I’m thinking about all the other families affected by this case and the unrecognised victims in these stories that are often in the shadows - you share my struggle.”

She expresses “deepest gratitude” to those who supported her throughout the process. “This really gave me strength to come back day after day”.

Jean Tirano, a 52-year-old roofer originally from Reunion Island, claims he was acting under the influence of drugs when he raped Gisèle Pelicot.

He has been sentenced to eight years in prison after raping Ms Pelicot in September 2018.

After arriving at the house, Tirano claims Dominique Pelicot gave him a drink before asking him to undress. “And after that, I don’t remember anymore”, he told the court according to Liberation. “I found myself in the car, I don’t remember how I got there.”

He claims Pelicot had drugged him using the drink.

The video of his abuse shows his abrupt exit from the room after Ms Pelicot moves and a thumbs up to the camera. But Tirano claims he has no memory of this.

“No, I don’t remember... It would be good for the victim, for the truth. And to defend myself . Now I’m seen as a liar or an idiot.”

He didn’t go to the police as he feared having to explain what he had done to his wife, Tirano claimed. “I’m not the kind of person who looks for trouble,” he added.

The president of France’s National Assembly has issued words of support for Gisèle Pelicot.

She wrote on X: “Thank you for your courage Gisèle Pélicot. Through you, it is the voice of so many victims that carries today, the shame that changes sides, the taboo that is broken.

“The world is no longer the same thanks to you.”

Jean-Pierre Marechal was found guilty of the attempted rape and aggravated rape of his own wife, and of drugging her.

Marechal was sentenced to 12 years in prison, after admitting to following Dominique Pelicot’s lead by drugging his own wife for five years.

He raped his wife, and invited Pelicot to rape her.

Marechard’s lawyer, Patrick Fontard, said his client would not be appealing the verdict, but that his client could be free in three years time.

By now, Gisèle Pelicot is a household name – for all the wrong and most tragic of reasons.

Since September – when she bravely waived anonymity and testified against her husband Dominique – horrific details of how he drugged her, raped her and facilitated her rape by at least 50 other men have slowly come to light.

She has faced her abusers throughout the trial in Avignon, France, attending almost every court date. She has spoken of how “broken” she is and how her decision to be named was to help shift the shame felt by victims of rape and place it rightly on the assailants’ shoulders.

“I am a woman who is totally destroyed, and I don’t know how I’m going to rebuild myself. I’m 72 soon and I’m not sure my life will be long enough to recover from this,” she said of the abuse that spanned nine years.

Emma Clarke writes: