A man who repeatedly drugged his wife and invited strangers to rape her while she was unconscious has been sentenced to 20 years in prison following an historic mass trial.
72-year-old Dominique Pelicot confessed and admitted he mixed sedatives into Gisele Pelicot's food so that he could sexually assault her.
He is one of 51 men who were on trial for participating in the attacks against 71-year-old Gisele.
All were found guilty of at least one offence, with nearly all convicted of rape, after a trial which has shocked France and made headlines around the world.
The defendants have been sentenced to a total of more than 400 years. The jail term handed down to Dominique Pelicot is the maximum available for aggravated rape in France.
Ms Pelicot waived her right to anonymity during the trial as she insisted it was for perpetrators to feel "shame" and not victims.
The mother-of-three, arrived at the court in Avignon tobe welcomed by her supporters, looked at each defendant directly as they were found guilty.
Following the sentencing of her then husband, the other 50 defendants were handed jail terms ranging between three and 15 years.
Among them were Joan K, a 27-year-old soldier who was handed a 10-year sentence for raping Ms Pelicot twice in 2019 and 2020, and Ahmed T, a 54-year-old plumber who has been jailed for eight years for raping her once in 2019.
All of the 50 defendants can only be identified by their first name and the initial of their surname for French legal reasons.
During the trial, Dominique Pelicot told the court: "I am a rapist just like all the others in this room."
Gisele Pelicot had insisted that the trial was held in public and the court show the explicit videos of the rapes recorded by her then husband as she wanted people to "see the truth".
Crowds flocked to the courthouse this morning to support Ms Pelicot during the trial - waiting hours to get inside, and holding up signs that read: "Gisele: Women thank you."
The Pelicots' three adult children Caroline, David and Florian were also seen arriving at court for the verdicts.
During the trial Caroline had shouted at her father: "You will die alone like a dog in jail."
Police searched the couple's house and electronic devices and found thousands of photos and videos of men engaging in sexual acts with Ms Pelicot while she appeared unconscious.
It was discovered that Dominique Pelicot had offered sex with his wife on a website and filmed the abuse.
The men, she told the court, treated her "like a rag doll, like a rubbish bag".
The hard drive also contained naked images of the couple's eldest daughter, although Dominique Pelicot denied ever abusing her, as well as images taken on a hidden camera of his pregnant daughter-in-law. Both victims also waived their right to anonymity.
The defendants put on trial were of different ages, ethnicities and social backgrounds.Most lived within a 35-mile radius of the couple, and some were even known to Ms Pelicot.
Some denied the charges, claiming they believed Ms Pelicot had agreed to be drugged and was a willing participant in a sex game between the couple.
But Ms Pelicot told the court: "They didn't rape me with a gun to their heads. They were fully conscious when they were raping me."
She added: "Why didn't they go to the police? Even an anonymous phone call could have saved my life."
