A husband considered one of France’s worst sex offenders is expected to be sentenced tomorrow – as verdicts are re-announced for all 51 defendants in the Gisele Pelicot mass rape trial.

Dominique Pelicot, 72, has admitted drugging and raping his then-wife Pelicot, 72, for almost a decade.

During the four-month trial he explained how he invited strangers to allegedly rape her too.

“I am a rapist,” he said during his testimony, claiming that all the other defendants also knew it was rape.

The court heard that in 2011, while they were living in Paris, Dominique Pelicot began sedate his wife with anti-anxiety medication and raped her.

However, his crimes escalated when they moved to the pretty Provençal village of Mazan.

It was here, he said, that he began recruiting men to rape his wife through a chat room called Without Her Knowing.

He asked the men he invited to his home not to park at the house so as not to be discovered.

They were also told not to wear fragrances or smoke to avoid leaving a trail that Ms. Pelicot could smell.

He then filmed the attacks.

In 2020, he was accidentally caught when a security guard spotted him trying to film women’s skirts at a local mall.

A report was made and when police investigated they found 20,000 indecent images, including footage of men having sex with Ms Pelicot while she was under sedation.

“He is extremely dangerous because he is intelligent and calculated,” said Christophe Huguenin-Virchaux, a lawyer for one of the defendants.

“Mazan may be just a drop in the ocean of what Dominique Pelicot has accomplished.”

Fifty other men were also tried on charges of rape or sexual assault.

The majority denies the allegations, saying they do not know that Ms. Pelicot did not consent.

Some claim that Dominique Pelicot told them that they took part in the couple’s sex game.

One of those who faces one of the most severe punishments is 30-year-old Charly A.

He is accused of raping Ms Pelicot six times, including on her birthday.

Mr Huguenin-Virchaux, his defense lawyer, has argued that Charly believed Ms Pelicot knew what was going on.

“He was told from the start that this was a swingers scenario. A couple with a fantasy. He was light years away from realizing he was involved in rape,” the defense attorney added.

When she was attacked, Ms Pelicot was unconscious and powerless and knowingly waived her right to anonymity so that the evidence could be heard publicly.

Her courage has inspired millions of people across the country and beyond to join protests against sexual violence.

Read more:
Pelicot sons face “devil father” in court
Thousands protest against sexual violence in France
Mrs Pelicot says her husband “destroyed” her and cheated on her

The judges are expected to announce all verdicts and sentences on Thursday.

Dominique Pelicot faces the rest of his life in prison.

Prosecutors have called for a total sentence of more than 600 years for all 51 defendants in prison.

Ms. Pelicot says she is a destroyed woman.

The 72-year-old said she is seeing a psychologist and taking long walks to rebuild what others have stolen from her.

She doesn’t know if she will ever recover.

And there is no doubt: the horror of what happened to her will haunt France long after the verdict is announced.