THE Dominic Pelico who was convicted of drugs and rape of his then wife Giselle Pelico and for inciting dozens of men to do the same over more than a decade will not appeal his sentence, his lawyer said Monday.

The Frenchman was convicted and jailed for 20 years earlier this month after a trial that caused outrage in France and beyond, while 50 of his co-accused were also convicted and given sentences ranging from 3 to 15 years.

Giselle Pelico was hailed as a hero for her courage and dignity throughout the three-month trial. “Dominic Pelico has made the decision not to appeal the decision,” lawyer Beatrice Zavarro told the AFP and the Franceinfo.

An appeal “would force Giselle to undergo a new trial, new confrontations, which Dominic Pelico refuses” to do, Zavarro said, adding that “it’s time for it to end judicially.”

Monday is the last day for the defendants to file appeals, and 17 of Peliko’s co-defendants have already done so, according to Zavarro.

After the guilty verdicts in late December, one of Giselle Pelico’s lawyers said she did not fear a new trial. “If this were to happen, he has already told us that he would deal with her – if she is healthy, obviously, since this is a lady who is now 72 years old,” Stephane Babonneau told France Inter radio. “In any case, he’s not afraid of it, that’s what he told us.”