Summary

A French court sentenced Dominique Pelicot, 72, to 20 years in prison for drugging and raping his ex-wife, Gisele Pelicot, and arranging for other men to rape her while unconscious over nearly a decade.

Of the 51 co-defendants, all were found guilty, with sentences ranging from less than 10 years to 20.

The trial, marked by shocking evidence, spurred national debate on rape culture and consent laws.

Gisèle’s courage in waiving anonymity has galvanized feminist movements, with campaigners calling her a national hero for sparking societal and legal reflection on sexual violence.

  • BaroqueInMind@lemmy.one
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    22 days ago

    20 years seems like a wrist-slap, but given that the main perp is likely in his 70s, this is a death sentence. I think the younger rapists should get life in prison, what the fuck is this 10 years sentencing bull shit.

      • Duamerthrax@lemmy.world
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        22 days ago

        I think most people really underestimate how long 20 years in prison is. For all intents and purposes, he’s leaving prison in a casket.

  • Feathercrown@lemmy.world
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    22 days ago

    This is good, but the sentences should be ~2x as long. Still, a win in my book. Gisèle is a hero for this.

    • sudneo@lemm.ee
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      22 days ago

      The rapist kept videos and pictures I believe. There was tons of proof for everything he (and the others) did. I can see why this was relatively straightforward (in addition to have a big - deserved - amount of attention).

  • Magister@lemmy.world
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    22 days ago

    he should have had 20 + 10 years per co-defendants found guilty, so 530 years in prison.

    • sudneo@lemm.ee
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      22 days ago

      That’s not how the justice system works in most (all?) Europe. Crimes are not a point system where you redeem “prizes”, and the sentence is based on the particular crime committed, not the sum of all individual counts.

      Many countries are also very rarely giving life sentences because they have generally very little point (no possibility to re-enter society=no rehabilitation possible) in addition to create other problems (like a complete disincentive to good behavior in prison - since literally nothing worse can happen to you).

    • django@discuss.tchncs.de
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      22 days ago

      What’s up with these fantasy numbers? You do realize, that there is a maximum time people can spend in prison, because they will die at some point?

  • john89@lemmy.ca
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    22 days ago

    I’m surprised there were so many perpetrators, considering her age and appearance.