A French court has found Dominique Pelicot guilty of repeatedly drugging and raping his wife for almost a decade.
The court ruled that Pelicot invited dozens of strangers to rape her unconscious body in a case that has horrified the world.
Reuters reports that all the Frenchman’s 50 co-defendants were also found guilty of rape, attempted rape or sexual assault.
The victim, Gisele Pelicot, sat in the packed courtroom to hear the sentencing, having waived her right to anonymity.
Dominique Pelicot was married to Gisele for 50 years.
He pleaded guilty to the charges and a panel of five judges sentenced him to the maximum 20 years in jail, as requested by prosecutors.
The court found 46 of the other defendants guilty of rape, two guilty of attempted rape and two guilty of sexual assault, handing down sentences of between three and 15 years in jail, less than the four-to-18 years demanded by the prosecution.
All the defendants have 10 days to decide whether to appeal, and Dominique Pelicot’s lawyer said he was considering this option.
Dominique Pelicot jailed for 20 years in French mass rape trial
