Prosecutors demand the maximum sentence for Gisele Pelicot’s ex-husband

A high-profile rape trial in France has entered a new phase, with prosecutors setting the verdicts and penalties they want for dozens of men accused of raping Gisele Pelicot while she was drugged and knocked unconscious by her husband.

After hearings lasting almost three months, the trial in the southern city of Avignon is starting to wind down and prosecutors are summing up the sentences they want to hand down on the 51 defendants.

They began by focusing on Dominique Pelicot, the man to whom 71-year-old Gisele Pelicot was married for almost 50 years.

He admitted that he had been putting sedatives in her food and drinks for years so that he could rape her and also talk dozens of strangers into sexually assaulting her.

Prosecutor Laure Chabaud demanded the maximum possible penalty for aggravated rape – 20 years – against Gisele Pelicot’s ex-husband.

As the prosecutor spoke, the 72-year-old looked at the floor with one hand on the handle of his cane.

“Twenty years inside the four walls of prison,” she said.

“It’s a lot and a little.”

The court is expected to announce its verdict before December 20.

During the trial, Ms. Pelicot became a symbol of the fight against sexual violence in France.

She insisted that the proceedings be held in public, contrary to the court’s suggestion that the hearing be held behind closed doors.

She was praised for her courage and composure, and admired for speaking in a calm and clear voice and for allowing her full name to be published – a rarity under French law for alleged victims in rape trials.