Men were ‘puppets of Dominique Pelicot’, says mass rape trial lawyer

Men who sexually assaulted Gisèle Pelicot were the "puppets" of Dominique Pelicot, a lawyer representing two men in the mass rape trial said.

Dubbed the Monster of Avignon, Pelicot is one of 47 men convicted in a mass rape trial against 51 men involving the 72-year-old grandmother.

Pelicot has been jailed for the maximum term of 20 years. The others also face up to 20 years imprisonment if convicted in the courthouse in Avignon, southern France. Pelicot, the now ex-husband of the 72-year-old grandmother, previously admitted that for years, he drugged his wife so he and strangers could abuse her while he filmed it.

Roland Marmillot said: “There are individuals who were like the puppets of Mr Pelicot.

“I feel that the ultimate crime of Dominique Pelicot is the fact that he took 50 men with him into this mire, into this state of affairs.”