MAZAN, France — The mayor of a French the city making headlines for the trial of dozens of fellows accused of rapes that passed off there over virtually a decade has apologized for feedback that seemed to downplay the case. “I’ve been criticized for minimizing the seriousness of the heinous crimes of which the defendants are accused,” Louis Bonnet, the mayor of Mazan in southern France, stated in a commentary Thursday. “I needless to say those remarks are surprising and I sincerely say sorry.”Dominique Pelicot, 71, advised the courtroom this week within the close by town of Avignon that for just about 10 years he drugged his spouse and invited dozens of fellows to rape her as she lay defenseless.In an interview with the BBC, Bonnet stated the case can have been way more severe.“There have been no youngsters concerned, no girls have been killed, the circle of relatives can have a difficult time however they may be able to rebuild. In spite of everything, no person died,” he advised the broadcaster.Gisèle Pelicot, who used to be married to her husband for fifty years and had 3 youngsters with him, has grow to be a hero to many rape sufferers and a logo of the combat in opposition to sexual violence in France for waiving her anonymity within the case, letting the trial be public and showing overtly in entrance of the media.Her ex-husband and the 50 different males on trial, who vary in age from 26 to 74, withstand twenty years in jail if convicted.“This horrible tale has deeply wounded our neighborhood,” the mayor stated within the commentary. “However I’m absolutely mindful that this wound is by no means related to the struggling of Gisèle Pelicot and her circle of relatives.”
