Rape survivor Gisèle Pelicot has said she is “deeply shocked” that three teenage boys have avoided jail sentences after raping two young girls in Hampshire.
According to The Independent, the 73-year-old French woman testified against her husband Dominique Pelicot, after he repeatedly drugged her and invited dozens of men to rape her in a case that shocked both France and the world.
Having waived her own anonymity, Pelicot “saluted the strength” of one of the girls for speaking out after the attack.
The victims, then aged 15 and 14, were raped in two separate incidents in Fordingbridge, Hampshire, by two 15-year-olds, while a third 14-year-old was charged with encouraging one of the other defendants.
The three teenage boys received youth rehabilitation order sentences, after the judge said he wanted to avoid “criminalising” the “very young” boys. Their case has now been referred to the Court of Appeal after a review under the unduly lenient scheme.
One of their victims told the BBC’s Sunday With Laura Kuenssberg programme, “The words hit like a rock straight in my face. He (the judge) almost made it seem as if what the boys did was not OK, but it was OK in the eyes of the law because they were still children.”
Speaking to BBC Breakfast, Pelicot said she was "deeply shocked that these individuals were in fact able to gain their freedom again when in fact the victims are suffering so hard they will never be able to heal."
She added she hoped her own story "was useful for her to make that decision" to come forward.
