The trial for the mass is entering the final stretch rape her Giselle Pelicoa case that has shocked France, and beyond.

Giselle Pelico was raped for a decade by men brought to their home by her husband, Dominique Pelico, after first drugging her by putting sleeping pills in her dinner.

Peliko’s legal team will make closing arguments on Tuesday, followed by Peliko’s defense, ahead of the five-judge verdict expected on December 20.

Dominique Pelicot was in the dock along with 50 other men at the Avignon court. The trial began in September.

All aspects of this sensational case became known in every detail, as Peliko waived her anonymity and the trial was completely covered by the media.

Dominic Pelico admitted drugging his then-wife for almost a decade and recruiting dozens of men from the internet to rape her in their home while she was unconscious.

Police identified his co-accused from thousands of videos found on Peliko’s laptop, although they were unable to identify 21 other men. Investigators said they have evidence of about 200 rapes that took place between 2011 and 2020.

Most of the defendants deny the rape charges, arguing that they did not realize Peliko was unconscious and therefore did not “know” she was being raped.

This line of defense has sparked a major debate in France over whether consent should be added to France’s legal definition of rape, which is currently defined as “any act of sexual penetration committed against another person by force, restraint , threat or surprise”.

The trial also shed light on the issue of sexual assault while the victim is drugged.

Blackouts and memory loss after years of marriage

Dominique and Giselle Pelico were both born in 1952. They married in 1973 and had three children. She worked as a manager in a large French company, while he – a trained electrician – started several unsuccessful businesses.

The Pelikos lived in the Paris area until 2013, when they retired to the picturesque village of Mazan in southern France. They had a large house with a swimming pool and often hosted their extended family during the summer holidays.

By all accounts they were a happy, close couple. “We shared holidays, anniversaries, Christmas… All this, for me, was happiness” said Peliko.

Between 2011 and 2020, Giselle experienced alarming symptoms that she thought were signs of Alzheimer’s or a brain tumor and underwent extensive medical testing. The blackouts and memory loss were, in fact, side effects of the drugs her husband was giving her without her knowledge.

Peliko divorced her husband soon after his crimes were revealed. He is using his name only for the purposes of the trial.

Peliko has been in prison since November 2020. His sentence will be announced next month, along with the other 50 defendants.

51 men in the dock

Fifty men aged between 26 and 72 are on trial, along with Pelikos.

They come from all walks of life: among them is a fireman, a carpenter, a nurse and a journalist. Many are married with children. Most of them lived at a distance of 60 kilometers from the Peliko residence.

Some of them have admitted to raping Peliko.

The majority of them, however, deny the accusations. Their defense is based on the claim that they did not believe what they were doing was rape because they did not know she was unconscious and therefore could not have given her consent.

Peliko refutes them saying that when he found them on the Internet he made it abundantly clear that his wife would be sleeping. “Everybody knew, they can’t say otherwise,” he said.

France in shock

The horror of Dominique Pelico’s actions, the sheer number of men involved in the case, and Giselle’s decision to seek a public trial have given the case much publicity.

Dozens of citizens attend the court in Avignon every day to support Pelico and support her by clapping and offering her flowers.

Above all, the case sparked a debate about rape culture, misogyny and chemical submission.

Feminist groups are pushing the government to change the definition of rape to include consent, as is already the case in many European countries.

“Society has already accepted the fact that the difference between sex and rape is consent,” said Greens senator Mélanie Vogel, who last year proposed a consent-based rape law.