Man who drugged, raped wife for 10 years, convicted

Dominique Pelicot, along with 50 other men, will face prison for repeatedly raping his wife, Gisèle, over the course of a decade.

Transcript

00:00Dominique Pellicot is found guilty on all charges in the mass rape case that shocked France.

00:06He will serve the maximum sentence in France of 20 years.

00:10Here's what to know.

00:11Dominique Pellicot had been drugging his wife Giselle,

00:14inviting over 70 men to rape her drugged body and filming it.

00:18This went on for 9 years.

00:20He perfected a dose that would leave his wife unconscious for about 7 hours.

00:25Enough time for him and another man or several consecutive men to rape her.

00:29Dominique collected 20,000 photos and videos and preserved the evidence of this rape.

00:35This collection later assisted prosecutors in identifying 50 other defendants,

00:40although approximately 20 others remain unidentified.

00:43Dominique has been handed the maximum sentence in France for his charges, 20 years in prison.

00:50All 51 men on trial have been found guilty of the charges against them as well,

00:54including some who pleaded not guilty.

00:58However, while Dominique received the maximum penalty,

01:01the other defendants were sentenced to fewer years than what prosecutors had sought.

01:06Sentences start at 3 years in prison.

01:08The court specifically sentenced 4 defendants found guilty of rape or attempted rape to a 5-year term, partially suspended.

01:15At least 5 of the men charged with the aggravated rape will walk free from court this evening,

01:20as some of them have already served prison time and others were handed suspended sentences.

01:25This trial drew a clear distinction between Dominique and the others accused.

01:30Dominique was bent over and crying in court as the verdicts were announced.

01:35He was also convicted of offenses involving his daughter and daughters-in-law.

01:40He was distributing sexually explicit images of his daughter Caroline and the wives of his sons.

01:46Giselle, the wife, arrived at the courthouse on Thursday,

01:49smiling, shaking hands and waving to the hundreds of supporters gathered outside.

01:54She has become a feminist icon in France and worldwide.

01:58It was Giselle's decision to waive her anonymity and throw this trial into the open,

02:04in her words, making shame swap sides, from the victim to the rapist.