Pelicot trial: Here’s what you need to know about the mass rape trial

Dominique Pelicot has admitted all charges against him: drugging and raping his wife and recruiting dozens of men to rape her. Prosecutors want judges to impose the maximum prison sentence of 20 years for aggravated rape.

“I am a rapist,” he told the judges. “I acknowledge all the facts (of the case) in their entirety.” He has apologized to his ex-wife and three children, but his actions have devastated the Pelicot family.

The other defendants come from all walks of life and most of them come from a 50-kilometer (30-mile) radius of the Pelicot village of Mazan. Being firefighters, security guards and truck drivers has earned them the nickname Monsieur-Tout-Le-Monde (Mr. Anyone). Most of them also have children.

Fifty of the 51 are charged with aggravated rape and attempted rape.

Romain V, 63, faces 18 years in prison if convicted. He is accused of raping Gisèle Pelicot on six separate occasions knowing that he was HIV positive. His lawyer says he could not have transmitted the infection since he had been undergoing treatment for years.

Another 10 men could face sentences of 15 to 17 years, and prosecutors are seeking prison terms of 10 to 14 years for 38 of the others.

Before the verdict was announced, one of the few men who admitted to having been raped told the BBC through his daughter that many people had made a decision immediately: “There was not enough time. For me it was a botched job.”

The average prison sentence for rape in France is 11.1 years, according to the French Ministry of Justice.

A man is charged with aggravated sexual assault instead of rape. Prosecutors say Joseph C, a 69-year-old retired sports coach and grandfather, should face the lightest sentence of four years in prison.

Some of them have apologized for their behavior, but many have not.

Cyril B apologized to Gisèle Pelicot.

“I am ashamed of myself, I am disgusted,” Jean-Pierre M. said this week. His lawyer hoped the judges would take his regret into account.