Five judges have convicted Dominique Pelicot of aggravated rape of Gisele Pelicot. The Frenchman drugged his wife for over a decade and invited strangers to rape her. A trial was held for 51 men, including Dominique Pelicot, in which almost all have been found guilty of aggravated rape or aggravated sexual assault. Among the convicted is 63-year-old Jean Pierre Marechal, who was sentenced to 12 years though prosecutors had requested 17 years. However, he was not accused of raping Gisele Pelicot.
What is Jean Pierre Marechal guilty of?
He is the only man among the convicts who was not accused of raping Gisele Pelicot but being an associate of Dominique Pelicot. Reportedly, he copied Dominique Pelicot and drugged his own wife, before inviting strangers to rape her, including Pelicot.
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According to the BBC, Marechal had earlier admitted to following Dominique Pelicot’s lead and adopting his crime of drugging his own wife for five years. He was found guilty of attempted rape and aggravated rape of his wife.
“I deserve it”
“I regret my actions. I love my wife,” Marechal earlier said in the court during the trial, adding that he would have never committed the crime if not for Dominique Pelicot.
{{/usCountry}}“I regret my actions. I love my wife,” Marechal earlier said in the court during the trial, adding that he would have never committed the crime if not for Dominique Pelicot.
{{/usCountry}}“If I had not met Mr. Pélicot, I would have never committed this act. He was reassuring, like a cousin,” he said in court.
“I’m in jail and I deserve it,” he said, adding, “What I did is appalling. I’m a criminal and a rapist.”
Who are the other convicts?
Forty-nine other men, in addition to Dominique Pelicot and Jean Pierre Marechal, were sentenced today in the Gisele Pelicot case, where they were found guilty of either aggravated rape or aggravated assault.
Also Read: Gisele Pelicot, ‘drugged by husband and raped by strangers’, walks out of French court amid thunderous applause
Only one person among those accused was acquitted of rape and attempted rape. Saifeddine Ghabi, however, was found guilty of sexual assault.
As per BBC, Gisele's ex-husband, Dominique Pelicot, has been sentenced to 20 years in jail. Reportedly, she rested her head against the wall in the court while the verdicts were being read.