There will be an appeal trial for the rapes of Gisèle Pelicot, but it will be very different from the one that took place from September 2 to December 19, 2024, at the criminal court in Avignon, southern France. It will be held at the end of 2025, before the criminal court in the nearby city of Nîmes, without Dominique Pelicot, the main defendant, and with far fewer defendants.

As the time limit for lodging an appeal was close to expiring on Monday, December 30, Pelicot informed his lawyer, Béatrice Zavarro, that he would not be contesting his sentence of 20 years' imprisonment – the maximum sentence – from which he will not be eligible for parole until he has served two-thirds of his time. As the prosecutor's office has not lodged an appeal against it either, his sentence is, therefore, final. According to the judges, Pelicot was "the instigator and organizer of the criminal process" in which he sedated his then-wife, Gisèle Pelicot, in order to both sexually abuse her himself and offer her up to dozens of men. He was also convicted of possessing and distributing intimate photos of his two daughters-in-law and his daughter, Caroline Darian, which were taken without their consent.

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