Giséle Pelicot's Voice Behind Justice

"For me this is the trial of cowardice, there is no other way to describe it, there was no excuse for abusing me while unconscious."

"When you walk into a bedroom and see a motionless body, at what point (do you decide) not to react," she said, in an address to the accused, many of whom were in the courtroom. "Why did you not leave immediately to report it to the police?"

leaving during a break in the trial of Dominique Pelicot with 50 co-accused, at the courthouse in Avignon, France, November 19, 2024. REUTERS/Sarah Meyssonnier

"When you are raped, the shame is not for us (the survivor), it is for them (the rapists)."

"I want all women who have been raped to say: Madame Pelicot did it, I can too. I don't want them to be ashamed any longer,"

"It's time for society to look at this macho, patriarchal society, and change the way it looks at rape."

“A rapist is not just someone you meet in a dark car park late at night, he can also be found in the family, among friends.”

‘I hear lots of women, and men, who say, “You’re very brave.” I say it’s not bravery, it’s will and determination to change society. This is not just my battle, but that of all rape victims.’

Reporting on the Case:

TW: Volatile Descriptions and Acts

A court in southeast France on Friday sentenced to 20 years in jail a man who for years raped his teenage daughter and offered her up to strangers for sex. The case echoed the ongoing high-profile trial that has shocked the nation in which 51 men are accused of raping Gisele Pelicot, drugged by her husband so he could invite strangers to their home to abuse her ( CBS News).

The convicted:

These are the men that have only been identified on the tapes and sent to a fair trial for their crimes for the rape of Giséle Pelicot for the period of July 2011 - October 2020 after being recruited by her former husband Dominique Pelicot. On December 30 2024, 17 men out of the 51 have filed an appeal to overturn these convictions.

Dominique Pelicot

71 YO former husband, violator, and SA trafficker of his wife Giséle Pelicot.

Before this conviction, Mr. Pelicot was arrested for filming up the skirts of people in a local supermarket.

In 1999, a 23 year old estate agent (Pseudonym: Marion) fought off a rapist and assaulter. In 2021, Dominique Pelicot was implicated but continually denied it until interrogators presented matching DNA evidence. This led to opening investigations on other cases, however the police know that Mr. Pelicot's modus operandi is to deny until certain proof is placed in front of him.

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/clynx2q93q1o

Dominique Pelicot has been found guilty in a mass rape trial that stunned France. He was handed a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison for repeatedly raping, and enlisting strangers to abuse his then-wife Gisèle Pelicot over the course of a decade.

Jean-Pierre Marechal

- 63 YO worker in a garden store.

- He pleaded guilty: “I was a rapist, but I’m not any more.” He is the only co-defendant who is not accused of raping Gisele. Instead, he drugged and raped his own wife for five years, inviting Dominique Pelicot to do the same.

- Sentence: 12 years in prison for attempted and aggravated rape.

Lionel Rodriguez

44 YO supermarket worker and father of 3.
Sentence: 8 years in prison.

Jacques Cubeau

73 YO retired firefighter and father of two.
He told the court he believed what he was participating in was consensual.
Sentence: 5 years.

Cyrille Delville,

54 YO construction worker who admitted to rape.
Sentence: 8 years.

Andy Rodriguez,

37, an unemployed alcoholic.
Sentence: 6 years.

Joan Kawai, 27, a soldier. It was revealed in the trial that he missed the birth of his daughter because he was assaulting Gisele Pelicot. He was found guilty of rape and sentenced to 10 years.

Hugues Malago, 39, a tiler who denied attempting to rape Gisele. He was found guilty of attempted rape and sentenced to five years.

Husamettin Dogan, 43, a construction worker who was found guilty of aggravated rape and sentenced to nine years.

Mathieu Dartus, 53, a baker who said he had taken the drug MDMA the night he visited the Pelicots. He was found guilty of aggravated rape and sentenced to seven years.

Fabien Sotto, 39, a homeless father of four who admitted to rape. He was found guilty and sentenced to 11 years.

Jean Tirano, 52, a roof mechanic who claimed he was also drugged by Pelicot. He was found guilty of aggravated rape and sentenced to eight years.

Simoné Mekenes, 43, the next-door neighbour of the Pelicots and the only man in the videos Gisele recognised. He was found guilty of aggravated rape and sentenced to nine years.

Redouan El Farihi, 55, a nurse who visited the Pelicots’ home when his wife was away in Morocco. He claimed Pelicot told him that Gisele was pretending to be asleep. He was found guilty of aggravated rape and sentenced to eight years.

Thierry Postat, 61, also faced charges of owning more than 1,000 pieces of child pornography and zoophilic images. He was sentenced to 12 years and banned from working with children for life.

Jerome Vilela, 46, admitted to knowing that Gisele had been drugged. He was found guilty of aggravated rape and sentenced to 13 years.

Adrien Longeron, 34, denied raping Gisele, telling the court that “as long as the husband was present, there was no rape”. He was found guilty of aggravated rape and sentenced to six years.

Thierry Parisis, 54, was found guilty of aggravated rape and sentenced to eight years.
Vincent Coullet, 43, a carpenter. He was found guilty of aggravated rape and sentenced to 10 years.

Didier Sambuchi, 67, a retired truck driver. He was found guilty of aggravated rape and sentenced to five years.

Patrick Aron, 60, who was unemployed. He was found guilty of aggravated rape and sentenced to six years.

Jean-Marc Leloup, 74, a retired truck driver. He was found guilty of aggravated rape and sentenced to six years.

Karim Sebaoui, 40, an IT worker. He was found guilty of aggravated rape and sentenced to 10 years.

Mohamed Rafaa, 70, a former DJ and club manager. He was found guilty of aggravated rape and sentenced to eight years.

Dominique Davies, 45, a truck driver. He was found guilty of aggravated rape and sentenced to 13 years.

Cyprien Culieras, 44, a forklift operator who has eight prior convictions. He was found guilty of aggravated rape and sentenced to six years.

Mahdi Daoudi, 36, was found guilty of rape and sentenced to eight years.

Cyril Beaubis, 47, was found guilty of aggravated rape and sentenced to nine years.

Ahmed Tbarik, 54, a plumber. He was found guilty of aggravated rape and sentenced to eight years.

Redouane Azougagh, 40, was found guilty of aggravated rape and sentenced to nine years.

Patrice Nicolle, 55, an electrician. He was found guilty of aggravated rape and sentenced to eight years.

Gregory Serviol, 31, a plasterer who had seven prior convictions. He was found guilty of aggravated rape and sentenced to eight years.

Abdelali Dallal, 47, was found guilty of aggravated rape and sentenced to eight years. However, his sentence was suspended due to medical issues, and he will be placed in a special prison.

Jean-Luc La, 46, was found guilty of aggravated rape and sentenced to 10 years.

Florian Rocca, 32, was found guilty of aggravated rape and sentenced to seven years.

Quentin Hennebert, 34, a former prison guard. He was found guilty of aggravated rape and sentenced to seven years.

Romain Vandevelde, 63, a pensioner who is HIV-positive and refused to use a condom when raping Gisele Pelicot. He was found guilty of aggravated rape and sentenced to 15 years – the longest sentence among the co-defendants.

Cendric Venzin, 44, a restaurant manager. He was found guilty of aggravated rape and sentenced to nine years.

Omar Douiri, 36, a cleaner who was married. He was found guilty of aggravated rape and sentenced to eight years.

Ludovick Blemeur, 39, a warehouse worker. He was found guilty of aggravated rape and sentenced to seven years.

Saifeddine Ghabi, 36, a truck driver. He was found guilty of sexual assault but was acquitted of rape and sentenced to three years.

Hassan Ouamou, 30, has 13 prior convictions and fled France during the investigation. He was tried in absentia, found guilty of aggravated rape and sentenced to 12 years.

Paul Grovogui, 31, was found guilty of aggravated rape and sentenced to eight years.

Cedric Grassot, 50, was found guilty of aggravated rape and sentenced to 12 years.

Joseph Cocco, 69, was not charged with rape. He was found guilty of aggravated sexual assault and sentenced to three years.

Nicolas Francois, 42, a freelance journalist. He was found guilty of aggravated rape and owning child abuse imagery. He was sentenced to eight years and banned from working near children.

Philippe Leleu, 62, was found guilty of aggravated rape and sentenced to five years, two of which were suspended.

Boris Moulin, 37, was found guilty of aggravated rape and sentenced to eight years.

Christian Lescole, 57, was found guilty of aggravated rape and owning child abuse imagery, and sentenced to nine years.

Nizar Hamida, 41, has eight prior convictions and told the court: “I’m not a rapist. Why would I go and rape a 66-year-old woman?” He was found guilty of aggravated rape and sentenced to 10 years.

Charly Arbo,

30, was found guilty of aggravated rape and

Sentence: 13 years.

Gisèle Pelicot waived her anonymity in an effort to help other women and force a change in society. Subsequent to sentencing, she remained stern about that decision, having previously said she wanted to make the horrors of her case known to give other people affected by sexual violence the courage to speak up.