A French court on Saturday sentenced a man to 25 years in prison for the aggravated rape and torture of his former partner, who chose to follow in Gisele Pelicot's footsteps by speaking publicly about her ordeal.
In a landmark case that horrified France, Gisele Pelicot's husband was in 2024 sentenced to 20 years in prison for recruiting strangers to sexually abuse her while drugged unconscious in their home. Dozens of the men who raped her were also jailed.
In the latest trial, Guillaume Bucci, who was a bank manager at the time, was accused of using the pretext of sadomasochistic sex games to manipulate his partner from 2015 to 2022 into torture and rape, including by strangers he found online.
The 51-year-old argued that his ex-partner consented, saying on Saturday that he "did not think he was hurting her".
But during the trial, the 42-year-old plaintiff, Laeticia R. -- who now suffers from significant disabilities as a result of the abuse -- described what she called the "psychological control" exerted by her former partner.
