In her high-profile case, the 72-year-old women raised awareness of abuse led by her husband Dominique.
A French court has convicted the ex-husband of Gisèle Pelicot for aggravated rapes and all other charges against him in the Historic mass rape trial that has caused outrage in the country.
The Thursday verdict for Dominique Pelicot, 72, was read in the court in the southern town of Avignon. He is to be jailed for up to 20 years although his judgment is still pending, according to The Associated Press.
In her high-profile case, Pelicot, also 72, exposed the abuse by her then husband who, despite the overwhelming evidence against him, pleaded guilty to slipping drugs to her and then inviting dozens of men to rape her while she was unconscious for years.
As of now, 51 men have been charged for raping and sexually assaulting Dominique Pelicot over the period from 2010 to 2020. Their ages were between 26 and 74 years and all of them are serving the same 20 years imprisonment.
About 15 have admitted the facts, though fewer than fifty of the men accused have said sorry in the case.
The judges were reading out the verdicts on other men who were also on trial for raping Pelicot when she was unconscious. About 15 have admitted the facts, and in the case a few of the accused have shown remorse.
Pelicot sat in the courtroom to hear her ex-husband’s verdict read out; there were other defendants in the room as well, and they were all surrounded by police officers.
As the emotions were high, about 200 police officers were to be on duty in and around the courthouse which was full of relatives of the accused, onlookers and media personnel from across the globe. Over 150 journalist were allowed to cover the trial which many activists consider a turning point for women rights in France.
