Shortly before the end of the rape trial in southern France, the main defendant addressed his family again. Dominique Pelicot said in his last words in court that he asked his ex-wife Gisèle and the rest of his family for forgiveness.
The 72-year-old had confessed in the trial that he had repeatedly drugged his then-partner for almost ten years, abused her and offered strangers rape. Gisèle Pelicot believes she was raped around 200 times.
In addition to Dominique Pelicot, 50 men are on trial in Avignon. Almost all of them are accused of rape. Investigators believe that a dozen more men are approaching Gisèle Pelicot. However, they could not be identified. Pelicot's ex-husband took hundreds of photos and videos of the acts.
The mammoth trial came to an end with the defendants' last words. The verdict is expected on Thursday morning. While the public prosecutor's office demanded 20 years in prison for Dominique Pelicot and between 4 and 18 years in prison for the other defendants, more than half of the accused demanded an acquittal.
© dpa-infocom, dpa:241216-930-319137/1
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