Gisele Pelicot, the 72-year-old victim of mass rape whose ordeal has shocked the world, has thanked supporters after 51 men were sentenced for the rapes and sexual assaults.
Her ex-husband Dominique Pelicot was found guilty on Thursday of drugging her and recruiting dozens of men to rape her over the course of a decade and sentenced to 20 years in jail.
All of her ex-husband's co-defendants were also found guilty of rape, attempted rape or sexual assault, receiving sentences of between three and 15 years - less than what was requested by the prosecution.
In a statement outside the court in Avignon, Ms Pelicot said the trial had been a "very difficult ordeal" and said she respected the court’s decision.
She said she was thinking of her grandchildren as she endured the court proceedings, adding "it's also for them that I led this fight", in which she waived her right to anonymity.
Ms Pelicot added she never regretted "never regretted" opening the doors of the trial, "so society could see what was happening", saying she had confidence “in our capacity collectively to find a better future where women and men alike can live together with mutual respect".
Her ex-husband, dubbed the 'Monster of Avignon', had admitted all the charges against him, and cried as the sentences were read out on Thursday. His lawyer said he was considering an appeal.
A professional jury of five magistrates sitting at the Vaucluse Criminal Court took two days of deliberations to find Pelicot guilty of 'aggravated rape'.
His co-defendants, all of whom were found guilty of rape or sexual assault, came from all walks of life, and were aged between 26 to 73 at the time of their sickening offences.
Ms Pelicot had told the court: “They regarded me like a rag doll, like a garbage bag.”
The sentences handed down by the court were criticised by some, including supporters outside the courthouse, who chanted “shame on the justice system” as they were handed down.
Dominique Pelicot’s sickening near-decade long campaign of rape came to light after he was arrested for taking illicit photos up women's skirts in a supermarket near the family home in Mazan.
When police searched his devices, they found more than 20,000 obscene photos and videos on his computer drives.
They were in folders titled 'sex abuse', 'her rapists' and 'night alone', and provided ample evidence against him.
Pelicot was described by profilers as a two-faced 'Jekyll and Hyde' character, who appeared to live a respectable middle class life by day.
But by night, he was a serial rapist who told the court, “I know I'm going to get 20 years, I've lost everything. I'll die alone like a dog.”
Police spent years trying to identify all of Ms Pelicot's attackers, and with only 50 out of a suspected 72 eventually found.
Her lawyers fought for the shocking images to be shown in open court, to prove that she was clearly unconscious throughout.
Her ex-husband told police he started drugging his wife in 2011, just before they left their home in the Paris suburbs to retire to Mazan, the small town in Provence.
14 other men admitted the charges against them, but others pleaded not guilty, claiming they had no idea they were involved in rapes.
In a separate case, Dominique Pelicot has been charged with raping and murdering a 23-year-old estate agent in Paris in 1991.
He has also admitted one attempted rape in 1999, after DNA testing proved a case against him.
