Feminist groups in France admit they are overcome with "despair" over the verdict of the mass rape trial involving 72-year-old Gisèle Pelicot's ex-husband and his 51 co-defendants.
In an Avignon, France courtroom Thursday, Pelicot's ex, Dominique Pelicot, also 72, was convicted of aggravated rape after he drugged and sexually assaulted his former wife over a 10-year period.
He was sentenced to 20 years in prison, the maximum punishment sought by prosecutors, according to the BBC.
Forty-seven other men were found guilty of rape, two guilty of attempted rape, and two guilty of sexual assault, after Dominique met them online and invited them over to their home to rape Gisèle while she was drugged and unconscious in their bed.
Although prosecutors proposed four to 18 year sentences, they subsequently ranged from three to 15 years in prison, the outlet reported.
"The sentences were adjusted, and that's a good thing," defense attorney Roland Marbillot, who represented two of the defendants, told France 24. "One of my clients won't be incarcerated right away; the other will but will likely be released in a few weeks or months."
Feminist groups in France are planning a Friday protest condemning the convicts' lenient punishments.
"Feminists and women feel humiliated, disappointed and angry that the courts have handed down extremely low sentences," Blandine Deverlanges, president of the feminist collective Les Amazones d'Avignon told the outlet. "Tonight, dozens of men will be going home and it's really unbearable to think that these men will be able to spend Christmas with their families."
"The question we're asking ourselves is whether women will continue to have confidence in the justice system," Deverlanges added. "Personally, I'm beginning to despair and I think that women are going to start organising themselves to deliver justice."
The defense accepted the sentences and Gisèle emerged from the courtroom to convey her "profound gratitude towards the people who supported me," according to the Associated Press.
"Your messages moved me deeply, and they gave me the strength to come back, every day, and survive through these long daily hearings," she said of the case that took two and a half months to present in court. "This trial was a very difficult ordeal."
She also credited her grandchildren with giving her the inspiration to see the trial through.
"It's also for them that I led this fight," said Gisèle. "I wanted all of society to be a witness to the debates that took place here. I never regretted making this decision. I have trust in our capacity to collectively project ourselves toward a future where all, women and men, can live in harmony, with respect and mutual understanding. Thank you."
