Gisèle Pelicot, a symbol of resilience in France, whose former husband Dominique was sentenced to 20 years in prison for orchestrating and committing mass rapes against her with dozens of strangers, is not afraid of a retrial should the defendants appeal, her lawyer said on Friday, 20 December.
On Thursday, 19 December 2024, the historic trial concerning the rapes of Gisèle Pelicot by her former husband Dominique Pelicot and 50 unknown men, whom the main perpetrator recruited from a swingers’ platform to come to their home in Mazan, France, concluded.
The trial, which shocked France and the world, began on 2 September. After three months, the criminal court of Avignon found Dominique Pelicot guilty and sentenced him to 20 years in prison – the maximum penalty under French criminal law for the offence. His accomplices were also found guilty, with sentences ranging from 3 to 15 years, lower than those sought by the prosecution.
Although Gisèle described the trial process as a “difficult ordeal,” she faces the possibility of another trial, as two defendants have already filed appeals, and the lawyer for her former husband has not ruled out doing the same.
“Gisèle Pelicot does not fear a second trial,” emphasised her lawyer, Stéphane Babonneau. “If it happens, she has already told us she will face it – if her health permits, of course, as she is now a 72-year-old lady,” he stated.
Her other lawyer, Antoine Camus, confirmed that the 72-year-old would wish to participate if the case goes to appeal and added: “Perhaps not as intensely as she did over the past four months, but of course she would want to be present.”
He also remarked that while this trial laid “a brick in the wall,” he cautioned, “not everything will change overnight; we must not deceive ourselves. Gisèle Pelicot knows this.”
Béatrice Zavarro, the defence lawyer for Dominique Pelicot, indicated in her initial statements following the trial that she and her client might appeal the court’s verdict. Zavarro noted that a decision on filing an appeal would be made within the 10-day legal window following the verdict.
“I am the forgotten victim,” says Gisèle Pelicot’s daughter
Gisèle Pelicot’s daughter, Caroline, feels like the “forgotten victim” in the case of sexual abuse that has gripped the world.
For millions of people globally who watched in shock as horrific revelations unfolded, the conviction of rapist Dominique Pelicot and 50 other men for the decade-long sexual abuse of his unsuspecting wife, Gisèle, brought an end to the harrowing case.
Gisèle bore the brunt of the abuse and its public exposure, relinquishing her anonymity to invite media coverage of her story.
However, her 46-year-old daughter, Caroline, believes she too was a victim of her father’s abuse. She said the ordeal and the gruelling legal proceedings caused her to “lose her mother.”
During the lengthy trial, Caroline reportedly sat with the 72-year-old Gisèle on only a few occasions, and they did not appear united in their fight.
Caroline has previously stated that she felt her mother dismissed her concerns that she too may have been abused.
“I feel like the forgotten victim of this trial,” Caroline told the court.
“Gisèle was certainly raped. Of course, she was drugged. The only difference between Gisèle and me is that there is evidence for her. For me, it’s an absolute tragedy,” she said.
The majority of horrific photos and videos meticulously recorded on Pelico’s hard drives depicted strangers abusing a sedated Gisèle. However, some showed Caroline, also asleep, in various compromising situations where she was naked. While there was no direct evidence of sexual abuse against the 46-year-old, Caroline firmly believes her father drugged her and says she may never know for sure if she was also raped.
Caroline’s journals, kept after her father’s arrest in 2020, were published in France as memoirs titled I no longer call him daddy. They reveal how the mother-daughter bond eroded during the ordeal.
The estrangement began as soon as Pelicot was first detained.
Caroline was furious when her mother, who had endured years of debilitating abuse, continued to pack a bag with clean clothes and supplies for her jailed husband.
This was the first of many incidents where Caroline felt Dominique Pelicot was manipulating his wife from prison and that Gisèle was complicit.
“Because of my father, I am losing my mother,” Caroline wrote after learning that – despite a no-contact order – Pelicot had smuggled a letter to Gisèle via another inmate, asking for forgiveness and begging her not to leave him.
“He’s still pulling her strings,” Caroline added after discovering that her mother had tried to keep the letter secret from her and refused to let her see it.
“My relationship with Mum has become strained. She cannot imagine that I too could have been a victim of my father. The idea is unbearable for her, and I understand that. But I am also angry at her for not being able to consider my doubts, hear my rage, and acknowledge my pain. She insists on telling me not to put myself through such mental and emotional strain.”
“Officially, there is no evidence of drugs concerning me. No trace of abuse or rape. Yet, that doesn’t reassure me. I also know she is wounded and trying her best to keep her head above water. She is in a state of ‘survival,'” the 46-year-old wrote in her journal.
“Slowly, she is entering a kind of numbness to protect herself, while I fight with all my might against my own demons.”
Caroline was briefly admitted to a psychiatric facility as her mental health reached its breaking point amidst the fallout from her father’s arrest.
Also read: Gisèle Pelicot’s ex-husband found guilty – sentenced to 20 years
Source: Newsit
