Avignon (France), Dec. 19 (LaPresse/AP) – The ex-husband of Gisèle Pelicot has been sentenced to the maximum penalty of 20 years in prison for drugging and raping her, as well as allowing other men to assault her while she was unconscious. The sentence against Dominique Pelicot, 72, was handed down by the Avignon court after he was found guilty of all charges against him. The abuse lasted nearly a decade.
The chief judge of the Avignon court, Roger Arata, read one by one the verdicts against Pelicot and 50 other defendants, declaring them guilty of "aggravated rape" of Gisèle Pelicot. The victim sat on one side of the courtroom, facing the defendants, as Arata announced the guilty verdicts one after the other.