French prosecutors have asked for the maximum 20-year prison sentence for Dominique Pelicot, who organized the repeated mass rape of his then-wife by knocking her unconscious with drugs and inviting dozens of strangers to abuse her in the family home.

A mammoth rape trial in France is moving into a new phase with prosecutors setting out the verdicts and punishments they want for 51 men men accused of raping Gisèle Pelicot while she was drugged and rendered unconscious by her husband.

Gisele Pelicot, whose husband Dominique Pelicot and 50 other men are on trial for raping her, gave her final courtroom statement in the shocking case.

Gisele Pelicot, subjected to mass rape organised by her husband over 10 years, on Tuesday condemned the cowardice of the dozens of men accused of abusing her who claim they didn't realise it was rape,

Both sons of Gisèle and Dominique Pelicot called for tough sentences for their father and the other men accused of drugging and raping their mother.

Gisele Pelicot on Tuesday lambasted the cowardice of the dozens of men accused of abusing her during 10 years of mass rape organized by her husband and told the court hearing the trial France’s patriarchal society must change.

Prosecutor Laure Chabaud asked the panel of judges for the maximum possible penalty for aggravated rape — 20 years — against the victim's now ex-husband. Dominique Pelicot, who turns 72 this week, stared down at the floor, one hand on the handle of his cane, as the prosecutor spoke.

A mammoth rape trial in France is moving into a new phase with prosecutors setting out the verdicts and punishments they want for 51 men men accused of raping Gisèle Pelicot while she was drugged and

A mammoth rape trial in France moved into a new phase as prosecutors began to lay out the verdicts and punishments they want for dozens of men accused of raping Gisèle Pelicot.

French prosecutors have demanded a 20-year jail sentence for Dominique Pelicot, who is accused of drugging his former wife Gisèle for a decade and inviting 50 men recruited online to rape her. Mr Pelicot,