An image of Gisele Pelicot smiling alongside her husband Dominique has emerged as the so-called Monster of Avignon and his band of rapist accomplices were convicted of their crimes on Thursday.
In the selfie snapped by her cruel and abusive spouse, Gisele is seen beaming at the camera held by her then-husband at a sun-soaked marina.
Her visible joy belies the heinous treatment to which she being subjected by Mr Pelicot, 72, who was routinely spiking her food with powerful tranquillisers before offering her lifeless body up to strangers to rape.
Mr Pelicot orchestrated this campaign of abuse for almost a decade, over which more than 70 men are believed to have visited their family home to abuse Gisele as she lay unconscious.
The sordid saga saw Gisele suffer all manner of health problems, including several sexually transmitted diseases and considerable psychological distress toward the end of her husband’s insidious campaign.
Her ordeal was only brought to an end when Pelicot was arrested by police for attempts to take ‘upskirt’ photos of women in a shopping centre. The subsequent investigation uncovered his dark treasure trove of some 20,000 images and videos of Gisele being abused.
Today, 51 men identified in those videos by police were found guilty of rape, attempted rape or sexual assault. Pelicot himself was slapped with a 20-year sentence and was told by his daughter Caroline that he would ‘die like a dog in prison’.
The sentencing concluded what has become France‘s worst-ever case of sexual abuse and one which has garnered international outrage.
In the selfie snapped by her cruel and abusive spouse, Gisele is seen beaming at the camera held by her then-spouse at a sun-soaked marina
Gisele Pelicot arrives in front of the courthouse before a verdict in the Pelicot case is delivered on December 19, 2024 in Avignon, France
Dominique Pelicot is pictured arriving at the courthouse this morning to face the verdict
Dominique was handed the maximum 20-year prison term by Judge Roger Arata after he pleaded guilty to drugging Gisele repeatedly to rape her and film her abuse at the hands of dozens more men.
Several abusers have escaped justice, with police unable to identify more than 20 men involved in Gisele’s abuse.
But Arata handed down guilty sentences to another 50 men besides Pelicot, many of whom contacted Gisele’s husband online and were invited to his home in the sleepy Provence village of Mazan to assault his unconscious wife.
Firefighters, soldiers, lorry drivers, a DJ and a journalist were among those found guilty of raping now 72-year-old Gisele at the behest of her husband.
In all, the court found 47 of the defendants guilty of rape, two guilty of attempted rape and two guilty of sexual assault.
Chaos erupted outside the courtroom as the trial concluded this afternoon.
A large group of baying protesters gathered outside screamed ‘shame on you’ and ‘rapists, we can see you’ as the shamed defendants emerged, hiding their faces behind masks and under hoods.
Several demonstrators brandished signs saying ‘prison for all’ and ‘Christmas in prison, Easter in the slammer’.
Meanwhile, the lawyer for one defendant was filmed laughing at the protesters, many of whom were part of a feminist advocacy group.
He labelled them ‘a bunch of hysterical knitters’ and taunting them by saying ‘my client has a message for you – the message is s***’.
His client was found guilty of sexual assault but now walks free having already spent the length of his sentence behind bars.
‘Your request for 20-year prison sentences for all the defendants has been refused… My client walks free, he says ‘Up yours!’ he declared, inciting yet more outrage.
Gisele Pelicot leaves the courthouse after hearing the verdict of the court that sentenced her ex-husband to the maximum term of 20 years jail
One of the sex attackers was met by a furious crowd when he was trying to leave the court after the verdicts were handed down
Police had to protect a man hiding behind a face mask and hood from angry protesters jeering at him
This combative atmosphere was briefly broken, however, when Gisele strode out of the building.
The crowd began cheering and applauding, with some participants even breaking into a song in her support.
The 72-year-old bravely waived her right to anonymity at the trial’s outset, and today declared she never regretted allowing herself to be thrust into the spotlight.
In a rousing speech following the sentencing of her husband and his conspirators, the diminutive Frenchwoman said she hoped her ordeal would help make the world a better place for ‘women and men alike’.
Her public stand against her abusers, which courted intense international media scrutiny on her and her family, was hailed by supporters outside the courtroom and by world leaders.