Gisèle Pelicot Said She Never Regretted A Public Trial, Telling Other Victims, "We Share The Same Battle"
Gisèle Pelicot said she had opened the doors to her trial because she wanted to society to join in the discussions.
After her ex-husband Dominique Pelicot was sentenced to 20 years in prison for drugging her and inviting dozens of strangers over to rape her, Gisèle Pelicot has said she has never regretted her making her trial public.
71-year-old Gisèle was drugged by Dominique and raped at least 92 times by 72 men between 2011 and 2020 without her knowledge.
Dominique, her husband of 50 years, would mix sleeping and anti-anxiety pills into her food or drinks and then invite different men to their home to rape her when she became unconscious.
She only found out in October 2020 after Dominique was arrested for filming a video of a woman's underskirt in a supermarket, which led to a police investigation.
Police took two years to track down all the men, identifying 50 of them.
During the trial, which began on Sep. 2, Gisèle chose to have the trial be public instead of private, receiving widespread praise from activists and the public.
On Thursday, Dec. 19, the court sentenced Dominique to 20 years in prison for “aggravated rape” of his wife.
He was also charged of attempting to commit “aggravated rape” against one of the men’s wife and guilty of taking inappropriate photos of his daughter, as well as his daughters-in-law, according to the BBC.
The court had found 46 of the 50 men guilty of rape, two of attempted rape and two of sexual assault.
Speaking after the verdict, Gisèle said her thoughts were firstly with her children and grandchildren, who she had also pursued the trial for as they are the future.
She said her thoughts were also with families that have been affected by the case, as well as unrecognized victims, whose “stories often remain in the shadows.”
“I want you to know that we share the same battle,” she said.
She said she had opened the doors to her trial because she wanted to society to join in the discussions.
“I never regretted this decision. I trust, now, in our capacity to collectively seize a future in which each one of us, woman and man, may live in harmony with mutual respect and understanding. I thank you,” she said.
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Isha Jain
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