This is also the first thing the lawyers, journalists, relatives and defendants in the Giselle Pelico trial see the next morning. At 07:00 in the morning the sun has not quite risen yet, and yet a long queue has already formed in front of the court building.

In recent months, the Pelicot case shocked not only French society, but also the entire planet, as it became known that for decades Dominique Pelicot, Giselle’s husband, drugged his wife and raped her systematically, even calling strangers he knew on the Internet to rape her too – in the end more than 200 cases of organized rape were attributed to him.

“Christmas in Prison”

Anyone who was in court or saw the released photos could immediately identify who the defendants in the case were. Not only because they stood out in their efforts to hide their identities with masks and hoods, but also because the activists shouted at them “Hurry, we see you!” upon their arrival, holding placards that read, for example, “Christmas in prison.”

After only 60 minutes, the court’s decision is clear: Dominic Pelico and dozens of other rapists will indeed spend this year and many Christmases to come in prison.

Dominic wears a gray jacket and stares blankly. At one point he looks down and wipes away a tear.

At 09:45 the president of the court Roger Arata is ready to announce the 51 decisions made by the court. First in line is the conviction of Dominic Peliko.

Guilty on all counts

“The criminal court decided by a majority that you are guilty of the aggravated rape of Mrs. Giselle Peliko,” says Arata.

Dominic Pelico was found guilty of all charges: deliberately drugging his wife, recording his crimes and taking pornographic photographs of his daughter, Caroline, without her consent.

Over the next hour, Giselle Peliko heard the phrase “you are guilty of aggravated rape” dozens of times. During the first half hour, Judge Arata announced that all the accused men were found guilty, while during the second half hour he proceeded to announce their sentences.

The defendants rise one after the other to hear the verdicts against them. Some seem completely unperturbed, others stare at the ceiling or the floor.

None of the 51 men, 30 of whom have pleaded guilty, is spared. Those convicted face prison terms of 3 to 15 years, while two defendants receive suspended prison terms. Now those who want can appeal.

Several of the activists waiting outside the court believe they should all be sentenced to 20 years in prison. “The penalties are not enough,” says activist Jean-Baptiste Rede. Dominique Pelico was sentenced to 20 years in prison – “and all those who raped Ms. Giselle Pelico should also be sentenced to 20 years in prison.”

“It was all part of a game”

Giselle Pelico listens intently as the sentences are pronounced, sometimes whispering something to her lawyer and looking her rapists in the eye. All of them seem at first glance beyond all suspicion, the style of man that one would describe as “ordinary men”.

The convicts are men aged 26 to 72, gardeners, journalists, plumbers, IT professionals. Some of them are married, have children. Their mothers leave the room crying, now that they are now sure of their children’s guilt and know that they will now be visiting them in prison.

One of the condemned is 43-year-old Simon M., a former soldier with an undercut haircut, jeans and a brown knitted cardigan.

Simon was a neighbor of the Peliko family, whom Dominique invited at one point “to show him the product”. In November 2018, Simon and Dominique raped Giselle Pelico together.

Like many other rapists, Simon insisted on his innocence. He himself believed that it was all part of a game, in which Giselle Pelico – lying unconscious on her face – was pretending to sleep. The only time Simon suspected something was wrong was when Dominic asked him to leave because his wife would wake up soon.

Simon never sought Giselle’s consent because “every man can do with his wife what he wants” – a statement he later restated during cross-examination. He had put it wrong: as Simon said, a man has no right to beat his wife.

With the conclusion of the trial, Giselle Peliko put herself publicly again: “When I decided to open the doors of this trial to the general public, I wanted society to be able to participate in the discussion. And this is a decision I have never regretted.”

Edited by: Giorgos Passas