They implored the judges to impose a sentence that reflected the level of suffering Gisèle Pelicot and her family were experiencing.
Camus said he was aware of the “expectations and hopes in this room and beyond” about the trial. He described the trial as historic. “Because we desperately, urgently want and need it.”
He leaned heavily on the concept of free will, dismissing the defense’s argument that many of the men who allegedly raped Ms. Pellico did so because they were intimidated, manipulated or deceived by their husbands. “Manipulation is not hypnosis,” he said.
The judge added that he had to take into account the fact that Mr Pelicot was all aware that he was also “recruiting” many other men.
“Everyone who entered that house of horrors knew that others had come before them and others would follow,” Camus said.
His colleagues painted a devastating picture of Ms Pellico’s life after her husband’s crimes became known.
Stéphane Babonneau then explained why Mr. Pelicot, who was living in a small town under his maiden name at the time, gave up his anonymity and opened the trial to the public and the press.
He said that in 2023, when French media began reporting the Pellico case using pseudonyms, “Giselle Pellico began to feel rebellious.”
“She decided to take back control of her life. The moment came when, out of shame, she switched sides.”
He said the will to hide no longer awoke in her mind because she had done nothing wrong. And she thought the details of the incident and the video of the alleged assault would help expose the reality of rape.
“For her story to be useful and to help other women, she understood that she had to give up the anonymity that had served her for so many years,” Ms. Babonneau explained. “She had to accept that she would forever be the victim of Marjane’s rape.”
The lawyer also urged the judges not to accept that the defendants made a “mistake” when they raped Pellico, unconsciously or “out of stupidity or ignorance,” as some said.
“If you accept the right to make mistakes, what will stop another man from saying tomorrow that he actually understood ‘yes’ when a woman said ‘no’ to him? “That person made a mistake too?”
“We ask you to deny us the right to make mistakes that endanger society and risk seeing more Gisèle Pelicots,” Babonneau said.
He paid tribute to Pellico and said the trial would be a “legacy” for future generations. “They will hear the name Giselle Pelico, and they will hear about her courage and the price she paid.”
He turned to Mr. Pelicot and said: “You did your job. “You exceeded my expectations.”
“Now pass the torch to others to continue the fight you didn’t choose.”
Gisèle Pelicot, on the right, is wiping her eyes.
