Gisèle Pelicot’s ex-husband won’t appeal his 20-year prison sentence for orchestrating mass rapes
Associated PressPARIS — The ex-husband of Gisèle Pelicot won’t appeal his 20-year prison sentence for drugging and raping her and allowing dozens of other men to rape her while she was unconscious, in a case that revolted France, his lawyer said Monday. She said 17 of the 50 other men also found guilty this month have decided to appeal their sentences after a more than three-month trial that turned 72-year-old Gisèle Pelicot into an icon against sexual violence. The court in the southern French city of Avignon handed down sentences ranging from three to 15 years’ imprisonment for the 50 men found guilty of rape, attempted rape and sexual assault on Gisèle Pelicot over nearly a decade of shocking abuse orchestrated by her then-husband and inflicted on her unwittingly. Gisèle Pelicot’s courage during the bruising trial and her appalling ordeal, inflicted on the retired power company worker in what she had thought was a loving marriage, galvanized campaigners and triggered calls for tougher measures to stamp out rape culture.