The trial for rape of Giselle Pelico by her husband was completed. Dominique, 72, was found guilty of all charges by the judge in Avignon. He was on trial along with 50 other men who were also found guilty of at least one charge, although their prison terms were less than what prosecutors had sought.

Despite the fact that the trial is over, there are still questions about the case and what will happen next.

1. What will Gisele Peliko do now?

When she walked up the steps of the courthouse in Avignon for the first time last September, no one knew Giselle Pelico’s name. Over the next 15 weeks, her reputation as a rape victim who refused to be ashamed of what had happened to her skyrocketed.

When she left the court on Thursday, crowds gathered outside chanted her name and her picture was on the front pages of newspapers around the world.

Now she is probably one of the most famous women in France. This means that although she has stopped using her husband’s surname, it will be impossible for her to return to anonymity. Gisele is not the first person whose unimaginable suffering has turned her into an icon. At great personal cost, he has become the symbol of a struggle he never chose. It seems unlikely, then, that she wants to become an outspoken activist against gender-based violence or a prominent feminist figure. Instead, she can return to what she said has always given her comfort: music, long walks and chocolate – as well as her seven grandchildren.

2. What really happened to Caroline?

Days after Dominic’s crimes came to light, his daughter Caroline was called to the police station and shown photos of an apparently unconscious woman dressed in unfamiliar underwear. She later said her life “came to a halt” when she realized she was seeing pictures of herself.

Her father always denied touching her, but Caroline – whose anguish and devastation was evident at several court hearings – said she would never believe him and accused him of looking at her for incest.

But the lack of evidence of the abuse she is convinced took place has led her to say she is the “forgotten victim” of the trial. This idea has clearly seeped into her relationship with her mother. In her memoirs – published after her father’s arrest – she accused Giselle of not showing enough support, tacitly choosing to side with her rapist ex-husband instead of her daughter.

Although Gisele and her children have always sat next to each other in court, there have been signs that their relationship is not lacking in tension.

On Friday, Caroline’s brother David stressed – as he has done in the past – that the trial was not just about Gisele but their entire “destroyed family”.

“We children felt forgotten,” he said. “Honestly, I feel that while our attorneys did a remarkable job of defending our mother, they treated us less.”

3. How many defendants will appeal?

Except for Dominick, all of the defendants were given less prison terms than prosecutors had requested.

Several defense lawyers were visibly satisfied, meaning they are unlikely to encourage their clients to appeal their sentences. A man named Jean-Pierre Maréchal was sentenced to 12 years – five less than prosecutors had sought – and his lawyer Patrick Gotard told the BBC there was “no chance” he would appeal.

The months or years the men spent on remand will count towards their total sentences, meaning some could be released soon if they have served their minimum sentence.

A man facing 17 years was sentenced to eight years in prison and his lawyer Roland Marmillot told the BBC that because he had already spent several years in prison he was likely to be released relatively soon.

However, the morning after the trial closed, two men who had been jailed for eight years each had already appealed. Others are expected to follow suit within the next week.

4. What else could Dominic be found guilty of?

Dominique Pelico admitted assaulting and attempting to rape a 23-year-old real estate agent, known only as Marion, in the suburbs of Paris in 1999.

He put an ether-soaked cloth in her mouth, but she managed to fight off the assailant and ran away. It wasn’t until 2021, after his arrest for the crimes he committed against his wife Giselle, that Peliko’s DNA was cross-referenced with a spot of blood found on Marion’s shoe. Then he admitted his guilt.

However, he has denied any responsibility in another cold case – the 1991 rape and murder of another young real estate agent, Sophie Narme, for whom there is no DNA. The researchers argued that the two cases show too many similarities to be mere coincidence.

Other cold cases where similar modi operandi were used are also examined.

5. Will the trial be a turning point?

“There will be a ‘before’ and there will be an ‘after’ of the Peliko trial,” a Parisian told the BBC in the early days of the trial.

For many, that sentiment has grown in recent months as intense media coverage of the Peliko trial has sparked countless conversations around rape, consent and gender-based violence.

“What we need to do is have much, much harsher sentences,” Nicolas and Mehdi, two residents of Mazan – the village where the Pelikos lived – told the BBC. They said they were “disgusted” when they learned one of the accused was a man they had played football with.

“With longer sentences, at least they will think twice before doing things like this,” they said, adding that it was “crazy unfair” that some of the men could be released from prison in the coming months.

It is worth noting, however, that the risk of a 20-year prison sentence for aggravated rape did not deter Dominique Peliko from carrying out the heinous acts against his wife.

Some have argued that schools have a responsibility to better teach younger generations about sex, love and consent. Béatrice Zavarro, Peliko’s lawyer, said she believes “change will not come from the Ministry of Justice but from the Ministry of Education”.