Five unanswered questions from the Pellicott trial

French rape victim Gisele Pellicot walked out of a court in southern France for the last time on Thursday as her ex-husband was convicted of drugging and raping her and inviting dozens of strangers to abuse her for nearly a decade, 20. Was jailed for a year.

Dominique Pellicot, 72, was found guilty of all charges by a judge in Avignon. He was tried along with 50 other people, all of whom were found guilty on at least one charge, although their prison sentences were less than what prosecutors had sought.

Although the trial has ended, questions remain about the Pellicote case and what happens next.

When she climbed the steps of the Avignon Courthouse for the first time in September, no one knew Giselle Pellicot’s name. Over the next 15 weeks, her fame grew as a rape victim who refused to be ashamed of what had been done to her.

By the time she got out of the tribunal ThursdayCrowds of hundreds were shouting slogans in his name and his picture was on the front pages of newspapers all over the world.

She is now probably one of the most famous women in France. This means that although she has changed her name, it would be impossible for her to return to the anonymity that had served her so well as she tried to rebuild her life following the revelation of her husband’s crimes. Was.

Gisele is not the first person whose unimaginable suffering has turned her into an icon. At great personal cost, she has become a symbol of a fight she never chose. Then again, it seems unlikely that she would want to be an outspoken activist against gender violence or a prominent feminist figure. Instead, she can go back to what she said has always consoled her: music, long walks and chocolate – as well as her seven grandchildren.

“At the beginning of the trial he said: ‘If I last two weeks, that would be enough.’ In the end, she lasted three and a half months,” said her attorney, Stephane Baboneau. “Now, she’s at peace, and relieved it’s over.”

A few days after Dominique Pellicott’s crimes came to light, his daughter Caroline Derian was called to the police station and shown photographs of an apparently unconscious woman wearing unfamiliar lingerie. Later, she said that her life “stopped” when she realized that he was looking at her photos.

Her father has always denied touching her, but Caroline – whose anguish and devastation was evident in several court sessions – has said she would never believe him and accused him of looking at her with “incestuous eyes”. Planted.

But Caroline is convinced that the lack of evidence of her abuse has led her to say she is the trial’s “forgotten victim”. This belief apparently permeates his relationship with his mother. In her memoir – which was published after her father’s arrest – she accused Gisele of not supporting her enough, indirectly favoring her rapist ex-husband rather than her daughter.

Although Gisele and her children always sit next to each other in court, often whispering together, there have been signs that the trial has taken a toll on their relationship.

On Friday, Caroline’s brother David highlighted – as he has before – that the lawsuit was not just about Gisele, but about their entire “destroyed family.”

“We kids felt like we were forgotten,” he said. “Quite honestly I feel that although our attorneys did a remarkable job defending our mother, we were given a little less consideration.”

In her memoir, Caroline laments Giselle’s “denial as a coping mechanism”.

“Because of my father,” she wrote, “I am now losing my mother.”

Apart from Dominic, all prison sentences given to the defendants were less than what prosecutors had sought.

Many defense lawyers were apparently satisfied, meaning that it is unlikely they would encourage their clients to appeal their convictions. A man named Jean-Pierre Maréchal received a 12-year sentence – five less than what prosecutors had sought – and his lawyer Patrick Gontard told the BBC it was “no question” that he would appeal.

The months or years spent in pre-trial detention will count towards their total sentence, meaning some people may be released early if they have served their minimum term.

A 17-year-old man serving a prison sentence has been sentenced to eight years in prison, and his lawyer Roland Marmillot told the BBC that because he has already spent several years in prison, it is likely he will be released relatively soon. Will be given.

Yet, by the morning after the trial ended, two men each who had been in prison for eight years had already appealed. More are expected in the next ten days – the time period for which appeals can be lodged.

Dominique Pellicot has admitted attacking and attempting to rape a 23-year-old estate agent, known by the pseudonym Marion, in the suburbs of Paris in 1999. An ether-stained cloth was placed over her mouth, but she managed to fight off her attacker. And he ran away. Also in 2021, after being arrested for crimes committed on his wife Gisele, Pellicott’s DNA was tested with a blood stain found on Marion’s shoe, and he confessed to the crime.

However, he has denied any responsibility in another cold case – the rape and murder of another young estate agent, Sophie Narme, in 1991, for which there is no DNA. Investigators have argued that the two cases have too many similarities to be considered a coincidence.

Other cold cases where similar Modi operandi were used are also being revisited.

“There will be a ‘before’ and an ‘after’ of the Pelicot trial,” a Paris man told the BBC in the early days of the trial.

For many, this feeling has only grown over the past few months, during which intense media coverage of the Pellicott trial generated countless conversations around rape, consent, and gendered violence.

“We need a much harsher punishment,” Nicholas and Mehdi, two residents of Mazan, told the BBC. He said he was “disgusted” when he learned that one of the defendants was a man he played football with.

“With a longer sentence they will at least think twice before doing things like this,” he said. He said it was “grossly unfair” that some people could walk out of prison in the next few months.

However, it is worth noting that the risk of a 20-year prison sentence for aggravated rape did not stop Dominic Pellicott from offering to have his unconscious wife raped by strangers he met online.

There have been calls to reform French law to include consent on rape, but this has stalled in the past and would require much work in the current divided French Parliament.

Some have argued that schools have a responsibility to better educate new generations about sex, love, and consent. Dominique Pellicot’s lawyer Beatrice Zevaro has said that she believes “the change will come not from the Ministry of Justice but from the Ministry of Education.”

Françoise, a resident of the area where Gisele and Dominique Pellicot lived, told the BBC that she believes there is a need to bridge the gap between what children are taught in schools and the type of content they have access to online. A method must be found.

“Young people are very insensitive about sex on the Internet and also schools are very insensitive,” she said. “Children need to be more open and explicit in matching and explaining what they see.”

These exchanges show that, although any change will take time to materialize, the conversation has now begun. This will continue until there are no more unanswered questions.