Dominique Pelicot was accused of having drugged and invited other men to commit assaults on his former wife Gisele Pelicot for ten years.
The remaining 50 men who were charged in the great rape scandal in French Avignon were also convicted of crimes, in almost all cases it is about rape.
– Dominique Pelicot has decided not to appeal the verdict, his lawyer Beatrice Zavarro told AFP.
– An appeal would force Gisele Pelicot to go through a new trial and new confrontations, which Dominique Pelicot refuses, she continues.
17 of the men have appealed the verdict
Monday is the last day it is possible to appeal the sentence, something 17 of the men who were sentenced have done, according to Zavarro.
Gisele Pelicot’s lawyer stated in connection with the convictions that her client was not afraid to participate in a new trial.
– If that were to happen, she has already told us that she would be able to handle it, Stephane Babonneau told the France Inter radio channel.
The maximum penalty for rape in France is 20 years in prison. Dominique Pelicot was also convicted of having taken pictures of a “sexual nature” of his daughter and two daughters-in-law.
72-year-old Gisele Pelicot has been consistently praised for her courage and met with applause during the trial.