The indictment includes 200 rapes and 51 perpetrators.
The 71-year-old Dominique Pélicot has admitted that he drugged his ex-wife with sleeping pills, raped her and invited other men to participate in the abuse.
The trial has been open to the public at the request of plaintiff Gisèle Pélicot, who has been praised for her courage.
“It’s not us who should be ashamed”
At first Gisèle Pélicot felt ashamed. But when she saw the extensive video evidence, that feeling was replaced by anger. This is what journalist Fanny Härgestam, who followed the case, tells us in SVT’s “Aktuellt”.
– It is not us who should be ashamed, it is them, Gisele Pelicot has said during the process. She wants the world to know what has happened and she wants to inspire other women to dare to report and talk about rape.
The fall shook the village of Mazan
Härgestam has visited the village of Mazan outside Avignon in southern France, where the abuse took place.
– I met a man who described something of a mass psychosis and shock at the beginning. Neighbors began to suspect each other of being involved in this. He said he knows several who are, and feel disgusted.
Prosecutors want Dominique Pélicot to be sentenced to 20 years in prison, which is the maximum sentence for the crimes charged in France. The police have also found pictures of daughter Caroline Darian on the father’s computer, but this has not led to charges.
– She will continue to pursue her own case, says Fanny Härgestam.