French mass rape trial defendants sentenced to between 3 and 20 years

A French court on Thursday handed down sentences against 51 men found guilty of participating in the mass rape of Gisele Pelicot, with terms ranging from 20 years for her ex-husband to three years for others.

Main perpetrator Dominique Pelicot got the maximum term of 20 years under the charges of aggravated rape. His 50 co-defendants received jail terms of between three and 15 years -- less than what prosecutors had demanded. Two of these defendants had their jail terms suspended.

Appeal
The lawyer for Gisele Pelicot's ex-husband did not rule out lodging an appeal of the verdict. "We're going to use the 10 days which we have to decide whether or not to appeal this decision," Beatrice Zavarro, the lawyer for Dominique Pelicot, told reporters.