A court sentenced a French man to the maximum 20 years in prison for committing and orchestrating mass rapes of his ex-wife Gisele Pellico with dozens of strangers he recruited online.
Dominique Pellico, who has already confessed to the crimes, was found guilty by a court in the southern city of Avignon after a trial lasting more than three months that shocked France and turned his ex-wife Gisele into a feminist heroine.
His 50 co-defendants in the case were also convicted by the court, with no acquittals. The sentences of the remaining defendants were announced this morning, AFP reported.
Tension was palpable in the courtroom, where a heavy police presence was deployed.
Many of the accused arrived at the hearing with bags packed, ready for jail.
"Mr. Pelico, you are found guilty of aggravated rape of Gisele Pelico," said the president of the Avignon criminal court, Roger Arata.
In handing down the sentence, Arata said Dominique Pelico would not be eligible for early release until he had served two-thirds of his sentence.
Dominique Pelico, 72, admitted drugging Gisele Pelico for almost 10 years so he and strangers he recruited online could rape her.
Gisele Pellico, 72, has become a feminist heroine at home and abroad for refusing to be shamed, waiving her right to a closed trial and standing up to her aggressors in court.
Along with her ex-husband, 50 other men ranging in age from 27 to 74 were put on trial, including one who did not molest her but raped his own wife with the help of Dominique Pellico.
Gisele Pellico said she respected the court's verdict in the case after some objected that the sentences were too light.
"I respect the court and the decision of its verdict," Gisele Pelico stated in her first comments to reporters after the verdict was announced. She added that she "never regretted" opening the trial to the public and now thinks of the "unacknowledged victims whose stories often remain in the shadows."
She went on to say that she believes in a future where "everyone, women and men, can live in harmony". | BGNES
