This article contains references to rape.
A French court found all 51 defendants guilty in a drugging-and-rape case that horrified the world and transformed Gisèle Pelicot into a stirring symbol of courage and resilience.
Pelicot's ex-husband of 50 years, Dominique Pelicot, had pleaded guilty to drugging her repeatedly for almost a decade to rape her, and inviting dozens of strangers he had met online to rape her unconscious body, while videoing the abuse.
A panel of five judges sentenced him to the maximum 20 years in jail, as requested by prosecutors.
The court imposed generally shorter terms than the four-to-18 years demanded by the prosecution for the other defendants, almost all of whom were accused of raping the comatose Gisèle.
In all, the court found 46 of the other defendants guilty of rape, two guilty of attempted rape and two guilty of sexual assault.
All the defendants have 10 days to decide whether to appeal, and Dominique's lawyer said he was considering this option.
Gisèle, 72, has become a symbol of female courage and resilience during the three-month trial, and crowds of supporters outside the courthouse in the southern city of Avignon cheered as she appeared after the verdicts had been read out.
"This trial was a very difficult ordeal," she said in her first comments at the end of the sentencing.
She said she did not regret her decision to let the case be heard in public, and was now thinking of the "unrecognised victims whose stories often remain in the shadows".
"I now have confidence in our capacity to find a better future where everyone — women and men alike — can live in harmony with respect and mutual understanding," she said.
Gisèle Pelicot told reporters that she respected the court's decisions. Source: AAP, AP / Lewis Joly
"Shame on the justice system," some of the waiting crowd chanted when they found out about the lighter-than-requested prison terms.
Gisèle herself told reporters that she respected the court decisions.
Dominique, 72, pleaded guilty to the charges during the three-month trial and apologised to his family. He also said that all the strangers he invited into his house knew that his now ex-wife was unaware of what was happening to her.
"I am a rapist like the others in this room," he said during testimony.
Many of the accused had denied the charges, saying they thought it was a consensual sex game orchestrated by the couple and arguing that it was not rape if the husband approved.
Gisèle, who is also 72, waived her right to anonymity during the trial and demanded that horrifying videos of the serial abuse, which were recorded by her former husband, should be seen in court, saying she hoped this would help other women speak up.
The trial triggered protest rallies around France in support of Gisèle and spurred a debate on whether to update France's rape law, which at present makes no mention that sex should involve consent.
Gisèle stared down her abusers with steely determination in the packed courtroom day after day, scoffing at any claim that she might have been a willing participant.
"I've decided not to be ashamed, I've done nothing wrong," she testified in October. "They are the ones who must be ashamed."
The Pelicots' children, David, Caroline and Florian, arrived in court to hear the verdict alongside their mother. The siblings have spoken out forcibly against their father.
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