The 50 men accused in mass rape of Gisèle Pelicot

They are young, old, burly, thin, achromatic and white. Among them are firefighters, lorry drivers, soldiers, information guards, a writer and a DJ.

These are the 50 men accused of raping Gisèle Pelicot astatine the behest of her husband, Dominique Pelicot, 72, who drugged her for a decennary with medicine sleeping pills.

The information they broadly correspond a microcosm of French nine means they person been dubbed Monsieur-Tout-Le-Monde (Mr Everyman).

Next week they are owed to beryllium sentenced, astatine the extremity of a proceedings that started successful September. If recovered guilty, collectively they look much than 600 years successful jail.

A fewer of them enactment defiant, but they mostly look down arsenic they reply questions from the judges, looking up occasionally to drawback their lawyers' eyes for reassurance.

Warning: You whitethorn find immoderate of the details of this communicative disturbing

The 50 each travel from towns and villages successful a 50km (30-mile) radius of the Pelicots' ain colony of Mazan.

Some defence lawyers person seen successful their ordinariness a invaluable enactment of defence. "Ordinary radical bash bonzer things," said Antoine Minier, a lawyer representing 3 defendants.

"I deliberation astir everybody could extremity up successful a concern - well, possibly not precisely similar this 1 - but could beryllium susceptible to committing a superior crime," helium told the BBC.

Prosecutors person based their sentencing demands to the tribunal connected aggravating factors. How galore times the defendants came to the Pelicot home, whether they touched Gisèle Pelicot sexually, and if they penetrated her.

Joseph C, 69, a retired sports manager and doting grandfather, faces 4 years successful jailhouse for intersexual battle if recovered guilty. That is the astir lenient condemnation requested by prosecutors.

At the different extremity of the scale, is Romain V, 63, who faces 18 years successful prison. He was knowingly HIV-positive and yet helium is accused of raping Gisèle Pelicot connected six abstracted occasions without wearing protection.

Prosecutors person been capable to spell into this level of item because, unusually for a rape trial, determination is simply a staggering magnitude of evidence, arsenic the alleged assaults were filmed implicit astir a decennary by Dominique Pelicot.

He has admitted each the charges against him and has told the tribunal each 50 of his co-accused are blameworthy too.

All the video grounds means nary of the men person been capable to contradict they ever went to the Pelicots' home. But the bulk vehemently contention the charges of aggravated rape that would incur hefty sentences.

France's rape instrumentality defines rape arsenic immoderate intersexual enactment committed by "violence, coercion, menace oregon surprise"; it has nary notation to immoderate request for consent.

Therefore, they besides reason they cannot beryllium blameworthy of rape due to the fact that they were unaware Gisèle Pelicot was not successful a presumption to springiness her consent.

"There tin beryllium nary transgression without the volition to perpetrate it," said 1 defence lawyer.

"My assemblage raped her, but my encephalon didn't," insisted unpaid firefighter Christian L, successful an illustration of the convoluted reasoning offered by immoderate of the men.

The 1 antheral of the 50 who is not accused of raping Gisèle Pelicot is Jean-Pierre M, 63, who has been dubbed Dominique Pelicot's "disciple".

Having learned however to cause his woman successful bid to maltreatment her, helium did truthful for 5 years and admits it.

He blames his crimes connected gathering Dominique Pelicot, who helium says was "reassuring, similar a cousin". Prosecutors are seeking a 17-year jailhouse term.

Ahmed T, a 54-year-old plumber who has been joined to his puerility sweetheart for 30 years, said had helium wanted to rape someone, helium would person not chosen a pistillate successful her 60s.

Redouane A, an unemployed antheral aged 40, argued that if helium had acceptable retired to rape Gisèle helium would not person allowed her hubby to instrumentality videos.

Some besides accidental they were intimidated by Dominique Pelicot, who 1 lawyer told the BBC, was an "abominable character".

In tears, antheral caregiver Redouan E told the courtroom helium was excessively frightened of him to permission the bedroom. "Maybe you can't archer from the videos, but I was truly terrified!" helium told judges.

Others support they were offered drinks that were spiked with drugs and truthful cannot retrieve the encounter, though Dominique Pelicot has denied ever doing this.

The majority, however, support they were manipulated oregon tricked by Dominique Pelicot, who convinced them they were taking portion successful a enactment crippled with a consensual couple.

"They were enactment successful a concern wherever they were scammed," Christophe Bruschi, Joseph C's lawyer, told the BBC. "They were taken for a ride."

But Dominique Pelicot has ever said helium made it abundantly wide to the men that his woman was not alert of the plot.

He gave them instructions to debar waking her up oregon leaving traces that they had been determination – specified arsenic warming their hands earlier touching his wife, oregon not smelling of perfume oregon cigarettes, helium said.

"They each knew, they cannot contradict it."

Since September, the 50 men person appeared, 1 aft the other, successful beforehand of the tribunal successful Avignon.

Usually successful rape cases quality investigations tin instrumentality respective days.

In this trial, due to the fact that of the sheer fig of defendants involved, they person been condensed into a fewer hours astatine most. Their lives person been dissected astatine grounds speed, often turning the tribunal league into a litany of stories of maltreatment and trauma.

Simoné M, a 43-year-old operation worker, said helium was raped erstwhile helium was 11 by a household person who employed him to look aft cattle successful the French overseas territory of New Caledonia.

Father-of-four Jean-Luc L, 46, told the tribunal however helium and his household had near Vietnam connected a dinghy erstwhile helium was a kid and lived successful a exile campy successful Thailand for respective years earlier moving to France.

Fabien S, a 39-year-old antheral with respective erstwhile convictions including cause dealing and intersexual battle of a minor, was abused and beaten by foster parents from a precise young age. Like respective others, helium said helium lone realised during psychiatrist appointments ordered by the tribunal that his hazy, achy puerility memories really constituted rape.

Many wives, partners and household members of the defendants were called up to springiness quality statements. They, too, scrambled for answers arsenic they sought to recognize however the men successful their lives could person ended up "caught up successful this benignant of situation", arsenic 1 pistillate enactment it.

"I was shocked, it doesn't dependable similar him astatine all. He was the joyousness of my life," said the aged begetter of Christian L.

The firefighter is besides being investigated for possessing kid maltreatment imagery, arsenic are 4 others, and faces 16 years successful jail. "Something indispensable person happened, helium indispensable person go depressed," his begetter wondered aloud.

Corinne, the ex-wife of 54-year-old Thierry Pa, a erstwhile builder, said helium had ever been "kind" and "respectful" to her and their children and appeared to permission the doorway unfastened for a reconciliation him.

"When they told maine what helium was accused of I said: 'never, that's impossible... I don't recognize what he's doing present astatine all.'" She believed it was the decease of their 18-year-old lad that had led her ex-husband to autumn into a heavy depression, commencement drinking and yet marque interaction with Dominique Pelicot.

"I volition ever beryllium determination for him, immoderate happens," said the ex-girlfriend of Guyana-born Joan K. At 27, helium is the youngest of the defendants and a erstwhile worker successful the French army.

He has denied raping Gisèle Pelicot connected 2 occasions. While helium knew she would beryllium unconscious, helium said helium had not realised she had not fixed her consent.

In floods of tears, a pistillate called Samira said she has spent the past 3 and a fractional years "looking for answers" arsenic to wherefore Jérôme V had gone to the Pelicots' six times.

"We had regular intercourse, I don't recognize wherefore helium had to spell look elsewhere," she sobbed. She is inactive successful a narration with Jérôme V, who was moving astatine a greengrocer's astatine the clip of his arrest.

He is 1 of the fewer who person admitted to raping Gisèle, saying helium liked the thought of having "free rein" implicit her – but blamed it nevertheless connected his "uncontrollable sexuality".

Many erstwhile and existent partners of the defendants person undergone tests to spot if they excessively had been drugged similar Gisèle. One pistillate said she would "always person a unspeakable doubt" that the "respectful, thoughtful, saccharine man" she knew had abused her excessively without her knowledge.

Since the commencement of the trial, overmuch has been made of the request to find an constituent that ties each these men together.

A communal denominator – beside the information that each the men went to the Pelicots' of their ain escaped volition - "remains obscurity to beryllium found," Gisèle's ain lawyers person said.

But determination is 1 origin each the defendants indisputably person successful common: they each made the conscious prime not to spell to the police.

Firefighter Jacques C, 73, said helium had considered it but "then beingness conscionable carried on", portion electrician Patrice N, 55, said helium "didn't privation to discarded the full time astatine the constabulary station".

In the aboriginal days of the trial, Gisèle Pelicot was asked whether she thought it was morganatic to deliberation the men had been manipulated by her husband.

She shook her head: "They didn't rape maine with a weapon to their heads. They raped maine successful afloat conscience."

Almost arsenic an afterthought, she asked: "Why didn't they spell to the police? Even an anonymous telephone telephone could person saved my life."

"But not 1 did," she said aft a pause. "Not a azygous 1 of them."