MORE than 20 of the men involved in the horrific Avignon mass rape case are still at large.
Depraved Dominique Pelicot, who drugged and abused his ex-wife for years and offered her up to strangers he met online, was jailed today for 20 years.
Fifty co-defendants were convicted alongside Dominique, dubbed The Devil of Avignon, in a harrowing case that shocked the world.
French cops had listed a sickening 92 rapes committed by 72 different men during the trial.
Just 51 of them - including Dominique - were identified via some 20,000 videos and photos taken during the assaults and hauled into court on Thursday.
This means some 21 alleged rapists could be hiding in plain sight in the small sleepy town of Avignon, in southern France.
A total of 47 men were found guilty of rape, most against Gisèle, while two were convicted of attempted rape and two of sexual assault.
Together they were given over 400 years worth of jail time - with Dominique likely to die behind bars.
Most of the convicted have been described as perfectly average, ordinary men including a gardener, farm driver, tradesman and retired fireman.
They joined Dominique in the depraved sexual assaults, before slipping back into everyday life, and went unnoticed for many years.
One was even next-door neighbour to the Pelicots' and another a soldier who assaulted Gisèle on the day his daughter was born.
A forklift driver who knew he was HIV positive was also among her rapists as was a local man who continued even though his victim was snoring.
Dominique's lawyer Beatrice Zavarro called them "Mr Average" and said the “real debate” was “how these men, from all walks of life, landed up in Gisèle Pelicot’s bedroom.”
Speaking after her depraved ex was sentenced for almost a decade of secret abuse, Gisèle said on Thursday that she was left feeling "very emotional".
Addressing press outside the court Gisèle told how she was thinking of her children and grandchildren and said: "For them, I wanted to put this struggle forward."
The brave grandmother said she "never regretted" the decision to go public with the case, waiving her anonymity and becoming a feminist icon across the globe.
Protesters gathered outside the court to cheer her on - and chanted her name as she left later on.
One of the defendants was seen covering his face with a mask, baseball cap and hood as he slinked inside ahead of the trial.
Another - who was given a suspended sentence - was seen scrambling to escape crowds as he left in shame later that morning.
Gisèle sat next to her youngest son Florian in court - with lawyers dressed in black robes flanking the family.
The case revealed how Dominique would claim to be a “good husband” to Gisèle, whom he married in 1971, and a good father to his three children.
Meanwhile behind closed doors, he drugged, raped, and recruited men to abuse his wife for almost a decade from 2011 to 2020.
He was first arrested in September 2020 for secretly filming up women’s skirts at a supermarket in Carpentras.
While in custody, he confessed to a hard drive hidden under a printer with a file called "Abuses" - full of footage depicting the rapes of his wife.
The incredibly brave Gisèle had to sit through more than three months of horrendous testimony throughout the course of the trial.
This included extracts from Pelicot's collection of homemade abuse videos and images being shown in court.
Hero Gisèle testified: "They regarded me like a rag doll, like a garbage bag."
Meanwhile sick Dominique confessed: "I am a rapist, like the others in this room," and said he may "die alone like a dog".
When the sicko spoke for the first time in court in the regional capital of Avignon, he said: “I am guilty of what I did – I say to my wife, my children, my grandchildren.
“I regret what I’ve done and I ask for forgiveness, even if it’s unforgivable.”
He added: “She [Gisèle] did not deserve this.”
Dominique has alleged he suffered abuse in his childhood and claimed that he was forced to watch the gang rape of a woman at the age of 14, while working as a building site apprentice.
The sicko added: “You are not born a pervert, you become one.”
BY Ellie Doughty, Foreign News Reporter
A total of 51 convictions were delivered in sentencing for the horrific Pelicot mass rape trial on December 19, in Avignon, France.
They included:
Dominique Pelicot - 20 years
Romain Vandevelde - 15 years
Charly Arbo, Jerome Vilela, Dominique Davies - 13 years
Jean-Pierre Marechal, Thierry Parisis, Cedric Grassot, Hassan Ouamou - 12 years
Fabien Sotton - 11 years
Joan Kawai, Nizar Hamida, Karim Sebaoui, Vincent Coullet, Jean-Luc LA- 10 years
Christian Lescole, Husamettin Dogan, Simone Mekenese, Cendric Venzin, Cyril Delville, Redouane Azougagh - 9 years
Lionel Rodriguez, Cyrille Delville, Boris Moulin, Nicolas Francois, Thierry Parisis, Redouane Azougagh, Jean Tirano, Mohamed Rafaa, Mahdi D, Ahmed Tbarik, Patrice Nicolle, Gregory Serviol, Abdelali Dallal, Paul Grovogui, Omar Douiri - 8 years
Ludovick Blemeur, Quentin Hennebert, Mathieu Dartus, Florian Rocca - 7 years
Andy Rodriguez, Adrien Longeron, Jean-Marc LeLoup, Patrick Aron, Cyprien Aron - 6 years
Jacques Cubeau, Philippe Leleu, Hughes Malago, Didier Sambuchi - 5 years
Joseph Cocco, Saifeddine Ghabi - 3 years
Dominique allegedly gave dozens of men strict instructions so they would not wake Gisèle up when they abused her during the night.
These included no aftershave or cigarette odour, all men had to have neat and clipped nails, among other details The Sun has deemed too disturbing to publish.
After parking a few minutes from the couple's home, the attackers would undress in the kitchen so they would not accidentally leave clothes behind in the bedroom.
It is understood that Dominique did not want the men to leave clothing behind as that would rouse his wife's suspicion about the horrific abuse she was allegedly suffering.
He reportedly took part in the rapes, filmed them and encouraged the other men using degrading language, according to prosecutors.
No money exchanged hands.
The rapists, aged between 21 and 68, include a forklift driver, a fire brigade officer, a company boss, and a journalist.
Some were single, others married or divorced, and some family men.
While most only took part once, some did so up to six times, it has been claimed.
Some of the accused, like Dominique, acknowledged they were guilty of rape.
But many did not - even when faced with video evidence.
Some defendants argued that Dominique's consent covered the consent of Gisèle too.
Others tried to excuse their heinous acts by insisting they hadn't intended to rape anyone when they responded to Dominique's invites.
Dominique was blamed by some of the defendants, saying he had misled them into thinking they were taking part in a consensual kink.
While others suggested that perhaps Dominique's drugged them too - which he denied.
"Please, if you could respect my emotional state as much as possible. Thank you. It's with a lot of emotion that I'm here to make a statement.
"This case was a very difficult test for me. And I'm thinking first and foremost of my three children, David, Caroline and Florian.
"I'm also thinking about my grandchildren because they are the future and for them, I wanted to really put this struggle forward. Oran and Celene as well.
"I'm thinking about all the other families affected by this case and the non recognised victims in these stories, that are often in the shadows. You must know you share my struggle.
"I'd like to express my gratitude, my deepest gratitude to all the individuals who have supported me throughout this, with the witness statements and the testimonials.
"This really gave me strength to come back day after day for this long trial. I'd like to thank the Association for Support of Victims who have supported me throughout and all the journalists who have followed my case since its beginnings.
"I'd like to thank you and recognise the faithful and respectful treatment of the case that you have daily given. My lawyers, I thank you. Thanks for supporting me throughout this long journey.
"I wanted when I started on the 2nd of September to ensure that society could actually see what was happening and I never have regretted this decision.
"I now have faith in our capacity to collectively to take hold of a future in which everybody, women, men, can live together in harmony, in respect and mutual understanding. Thank you."
