Bombay Durpun - Lawyers seek leniency for France rape trial defendants, blaming 'wolf' husband

In a trial that has shocked France since it opened in September, the main defendant, 72-year-old Dominique Pelicot, has admitted to enlisting dozens of strangers to rape his then-wife Gisele Pelicot, now 71, after drugging her with sleeping pills.

Prosecutors have sought a maximum 20-year jail term for Dominique Pelicot, and 10 to 18 years in prison for 49 of the 50 other co-defendants accused of rape or attempted rape, with a four-year punishment requested in only one case.

Among them is Dominique D., a 45-year-old truck driver, who has admitted to visiting the Pelicot home six times between 2016 and 2020 to have intercourse with Gisele Pelicot while fully aware that she was sleeping and therefore could not give her consent.

The prosecution has asked that he be jailed for 17 years.

"These 17 years are unacceptable," his lawyer Emile-Henri Biscarrat said.

Unlike the main defendant Dominique Pelicot, his client "did not do any of the drugging", he said.

"Experts have highlighted that Dominique Pelicot knows how to manipulate people," he added, calling the main defendant a "wolf".

He argued that Dominique D. had admitted to his guilt and was not found to own any sexually explicit images of minors -- unlike some of the other co-defendants set to receive less harsh sentences.

He asked the court to take into account that his client was abandoned as an infant, and that he suffered from "sexual urges".

He said he served in the French military abroad and had sought to "make amends" through work and therapy in pre-trial detention.

- 'Rapist maker' -

Prosecutors have requested a 16-year jail term for Jerome V., a 46-year-old who also sought to take part in the abuse six times.

His lawyer Gaele Guenoun warned the court against making an example of her client.

She said Jerome V., a grocery store employee, had admitted to rape during his six visits and apologised to Gisele Pelicot.

But, she argued, he had "fallen into Dominique Pelicot's net", describing the main defendant as a "rapist maker".

The attorney of another co-defendant Redouane A., who has rejected accusations he committed rape during his two visits, asked for him to be acquitted instead of jailed for 12 years as requested by the prosecution.

Henri Amr spoke of his 40-year-old client's "emotional, social and sexual misery".

He said the defendant -- who he described as "psychotic" and having suffered from "mental retardation" since childhood -- had been "manipulated" by Dominique Pelicot after meeting him online into believing he was taking part in a couple's fantasy.

"Doped up on pornographic images, this man believed him. He believed him and returned a second time," he said.

Lead prosecutor Laure Chabaud last week rejected this argument of so-called consent by proxy as one "from another era".

- Understood 'she had been destroyed' -

Gisele Pelicot, who has since divorced her husband but kept his surname for the trial, was listening attentively in court on Wednesday after a day's absence.

She sometimes appeared irritated by some of the arguments.

She has become a feminist icon at home and abroad for demanding that the trial be open to the public to raise awareness, arguing that the perpetrators of sexual abuse -- not their victims -- are the ones who should be ashamed.

Closing arguments in the case are scheduled to run to December 13, with a verdict expected on December 20.

Unlike her counterparts, the lawyer of a fourth man who is accused of rape only once, Fabien S., did not seek to shift all the blame on Dominique Pelicot.

The prosecution has demanded 16 years in prison for her client, a 39-year-old who has been in and out of jail after an abusive childhood.

She said that Fabien S., who said during the trial his foster father had repeatedly raped him, "knows what it is like as a victim not to be heard".

While he at first thought Gisele Pelicot was a consenting partner, he then came to understand "she had been destroyed", the attorney argued.

"I dare to ask the court to give him a hand with a fair and proportionate punishment," the lawyer said.

Several of the defendants in the trial, including Dominique Pelicot, have claimed they were sexually abused as minors.

G.Tara--BD