Dozens of men found guilty in Gisèle Pelicot mass rape trial

A court found the husband of Gisèle Pelicot guilty of aggravated rapes and all other charges against him in the mass rape trial that has shocked France.

Dozens of men, including the ex-husband of Gisèle Pelicot, were Thursday found guilty of raping and sexually assaulting her in a historic trial that shocked France. 

Speaking with journalists in the southern town of Avignon after the verdicts were read, Pelicot, 72, said the outcome of her case gave her faith in a future in which “everybody, women, men can live together in harmony, in respect and in mutual understanding.”

Pelicot, who has become a hero to many in France for choosing to waive her right to anonymity and highlight the crimes orchestrated by her husband, added that she had fought the case with her children and her grandchildren in mind “because they are the future,” according to a live translation by NBC News’ British broadcasting partner, Sky News.

Gisèle Pelicot addresses the media after her husband was sentenced Thursday.Miguel Medina / AFP - Getty ImagesEarlier in the courtroom, she watched as Roger Arata, the lead judge, sentence her husband, Dominique Pelicot, to 20 years in prison. He had admitted to drugging her until she became unconscious and inviting dozens of men to rape her over the span of a decade.

Another 46 men were found guilty of rape, two of attempted rape and two guilty of sexual assault in the high-profile case, according to Sky News. They ranged in age from 26 to 74 and were handed sentences from three to 13 years. Collectively, they will serve more than 400 years.

https://www.nbcnews.com/news/world/french-court-gisele-pelicots-ex-husband-guilty-rapes-rcna184801

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