Dominique Pelicot, the ex-husband of Gisèle Pelicot, has been found guilty of aggravated rape and jailed for 20 years.
Dominique Pelicot, 72, was found guilty of drugging his ex-wife, Gisèle, raping her and inviting dozens of men to also abuse her over nearly a decade.
He is on trial on trial with 50 other men, the majority of whom deny charges of rape.
All 51 men have been found guilty today – being jailed for a total of more than 400 years.
Pelicot was handed a 20-year jail sentence on Thursday and has admitted he will likely die behind bars.
As the sentence came in, Pelicot bent forward and covered his face as his daughter shouted at him from across the courtroom.
Speaking following his sentencing, Dominique Pelicot's lawyer, Beatrice Zavarro, said the rapist was "struck" by the length of his conviction and will consider and appeal.
She said: "We have ten days now to see if he would like to appeal and no decision has been made yet.
"As his lawyer I would say it's a good thing for justice that these debates were able to take place in the environment they did.
"We are now in the pre phase court of events – there are 10 days to debate the verdict and decide if we wish to appeal.
"Mr Pelicot was not necessarily the conductor of the orchestra alleged. I am not going to criticise the decision of the court.
"He is struck by the period in question – the sentencing (length of sentence)
"We will take the 10 days to digest this and he will think about his future."
The ordeal inflicted over nearly a decade on Gisèle Pelicot in what she thought was a loving marriage, and her courage during the trial has transformed the retired power company worker into a feminist hero of the nation.
Pelicot, 72, who has failing health, has accepted that he will die behind bars, with his daughter yelling at him during the trial: "You will die alone like a dog and caught out in lies!"
Alongside Pelicot, 50 other men accused of raping Gisèle received sentences – many of which came in as shorter than expected.
One of the men, Jean-Pierre Marechal, has also been found guilty of raping his own wife with the help of Pelicot.
Gisèle's trial galvanised campaigners against sexual violence and spurred calls for tougher measures to stamp out rape culture.
Campaigners against sexual violence were hoping for exemplary prison terms and view the trial as a possible turning point in the fight against rape culture and the use of drugs to subdue victims.
Pelicot first came to the attention of police in September 2020, when a supermarket security guard caught him filming up women's skirts.
Police subsequently found his library of homemade images documenting years of abuse inflicted on his wife – more than 20,000 photos and videos in all, stored on computer drives and catalogued in folders marked "abuse", "her rapists", "night alone" and other titles.
The hearings sparked wider debate in France about whether the country's legal definition of rape should be expanded to include specific mention of consent.
Some defendants argued that Pelicot's consent covered his wife, too.
Some sought to excuse their behaviour by insisting that they had not intended to rape anyone when they responded to the husband's invitations to come to their home.
Some laid the blame at his door, saying he misled them into thinking they were taking part in consensual kink.
Giving evidence last month, Gisèle said: "I will have to live with this for the rest of my life"
Following the verdict against the two men, convictions against the remaining 49 began rolling in as all were found guilty of at least one crime:
The men have 10 to appeal the decisions.
