Berliner Tageblatt - French court hands man 25-year term for torture, rape of ex-partner

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.

Bucci admitted to several acts, including strangulation, burning, and acts of bestiality, but said they were "consensual sexual games in the context of their intimate relationship".

He also admitted to pressuring his ex-partner into prostitution. Laeticia R. told the court she had "stopped counting" at nearly 500 men.

The court in southeastern France sentenced the 51-year-old to 25 years in prison, ruling that he must serve at least two-thirds of the term before being eligible for parole.

Prosecutors had requested a life sentence to prevent the "risk of reoffending against another woman".

- '487 men' -

When her ex-partner introduced the idea of sadomasochism, Laeticia R. said she thought of "spanking, being tied up", adding that he had told her they would stop if she did not like it.

But "it was pure and simple violence," she said, describing living in "constant fear" that her former partner would release intimate recordings if she left him.

"I felt like I was dying inside," the mother of four told the courtroom.

Laeticia R. recounted how, "little by little", Bucci pushed her to sleep with other men, before asking her on Christmas Eve in 2015 to go to a motorway service station and "offer herself to strangers" as he listened over the phone.

He then forced her to engage in prostitution, selling sex to "friends, colleagues, and strangers" and making her keep a list of the men involved.

"I stopped counting at 487 men, some of whom I had seen up to 10 times," she said during the trial.

Philippe-Henry Honegger, a lawyer for Laeticia R., said Gisele Pelicot had inspired his client to share her story publicly.

The defendant in the trial was not accused of having drugged the plaintiff, unlike in the Pelicot case.

F.Müller--BTB