It was a mass rape trial that shook France: 51 men found guilty at once, mostly for raping Gisèle Pelicot, a woman then in her 60s. She had been drugged into a comalike state by her own husband, who then invited other men to rape her, too. The abuse went on for years.
Dominique Pelicot, 72, now her ex-husband, received the maximum sentence, 20 years. The other 50 men received sentences ranging from three to 15 years in prison.
But one, Husamettin Dogan, is appealing the verdict, arguing that he is not guilty and should be set free. His appeal trial starts Monday in Nîmes, opening a new chapter in a case that galvanized women in France and beyond to speak out against the prevalence and banality of rape and rape culture.
Here is a timeline of events in the case, based on court records and testimonies.
1973
The Pelicots marry at age 20, two years after meeting. “We were so in love, we didn’t want to be apart,” Ms. Pelicot told the court at the trial.
1974
The first of their three children is born. They settle on the outskirts of Paris. Ms. Pelicot, a manager at a big public company, is the family’s main breadwinner, and Mr. Pelicot works in different jobs, including as a real estate agent.
2010
Mr. Pelicot is caught filming under women’s skirts in a shopping mall near Paris, using a miniature camera concealed in a pen. He is arrested and fined 100 euros, about $120, for “capturing indecent images.” Ms. Pelicot learns of that arrest only in 2020, from an investigative judge in the lead-up to the first trial. “If I had been informed, maybe I would have left him, or not,” she told the court. “But I would have been more attentive.”
July 2011
Mr. Pelicot starts drugging his wife during this year, according to what he later tells the court. Ms. Pelicot recalled that she had a blackout on a Saturday that year when she slept in until 6 p.m. Later, as the drugging, unknown to her, became more regular, she said she suffered frequent unexplained blackouts that she feared were the symptoms of Alzheimer’s or a brain tumor.
2013
Mr. and Ms. Pelicot retire and move to a bungalow with a garden and a pool in Mazan, a small town near Avignon, in the south of France. Their children and grandchildren visit regularly.
Sept. 12, 2020
Mr. Pelicot is arrested after a security guard catches him again filming up the skirts of women, this time with his smartphone in a supermarket in Carpentras, a town near Mazan. The police seize two phones, a camera and a video recorder he is carrying, as well as a laptop, a USB drive and an SD card from his home. He is released while awaiting charges and tells Ms. Pelicot about the arrest.
Nov. 2, 2020
Ms. Pelicot meets with the police in Carpentras, expecting to hear about what happened at the supermarket. Instead, the police tell her about the videos they have found on her husband’s electronics and say that they believe he had been drugging her for years and inviting dozens of men into their home to rape her alongside him.
Nov. 3, 2020
The Pelicots’ children help their mother move out of her home, which is now a crime scene. The police show Caroline Darian, the middle child and only daughter (who goes by a pen name), two photos recovered from her father’s electronics that show her sleeping with the covers pulled back and the lights on. She testifies that she is convinced her father drugged and sexually assaulted her. He denies that and says he did not take the pictures.
Feb. 9, 2021
The police make the first arrests of other men charged in the case, tracking most of them down using photos, as well as records from Skype conversations, phone calls and text messages. Mr. Pelicot had directed the police to a hard drive in his garage where they discovered thousands of images and videos he had taken and edited. Many were stored in a folder named “Abuse.”
Sept. 2, 2024
The trial begins. Ms. Pelicot takes the stand and explains her decision to allow the proceedings to be public and to refuse the anonymity offered by law to victims of sexual assault. She says she wants society to change how it deals with rape. “So when other women, if they wake up with no memory, they might remember the testimony of Ms. Pelicot,” she tells the court calmly. “No woman should suffer from being drugged and victimized.”
Sept. 14, 2024
Thousands of women participate in demonstrations across France to support Ms. Pelicot.
Dec. 19, 2024
Mr. Pelicot and all the other defendants are convicted.
Dec. 29, 2024
Seventeen out of 51 men appeal. Subsequently, all but one drop their appeals.
Oct. 6, 2025
The appeal trial of the remaining man, Husamettin Dogan, opens in Nîmes.
Ségolène Le Stradic is a reporter and researcher covering France.
Catherine Porter is an international reporter for The Times, covering France. She is based in Paris.
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