Dominique Pelicot Declines Appeal Against 20-Year Sentence in French Mass Rape Case

Dominique Pelicot, the Frenchman convicted of drugging and raping his then-wife and arranging for dozens of men to do the same over more than a decade, will not appeal his 20-year sentence, his lawyer confirmed on Monday.

Pelicot was convicted earlier this month in a trial that shocked France and beyond, with 50 co-defendants also receiving sentences ranging from three to 15 years.

Gisèle Pelicot, his ex-wife and the victim, was widely praised for her courage and dignity throughout the three-month trial.

“Dominique Pelicot has taken the decision to not appeal the verdict,” his lawyer Beatrice Zavarro told AFP and Franceinfo. She explained that Pelicot wished to avoid subjecting Gisèle to another “ordeal” and “new confrontations,” adding, “It is time to finish judicially.”

Monday marked the deadline for defendants to file appeals, and 17 of Pelicot’s co-defendants have already done so, Zavarro revealed.

Following the guilty verdicts earlier this month, Gisèle Pelicot’s lawyer, Stephane Babonneau, stated that she was prepared to face another trial if necessary.

“She has already indicated to us that she would face it—if she is healthy, obviously, since she is now 72,” Babonneau told France Inter radio. “In any case, she has no fear of it.”

Gisèle Pelicot has been commended for her decision to refuse a closed trial, choosing instead to challenge the stigma surrounding rape and shift the shame from victims to perpetrators.

Faridah Abdulkadiri

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