Shocking crime in France, 50 men are accused of raping a woman

They are young, old, fat, thin, white, and dark. Among them are firefighters, truck drivers, soldiers, security guards, a journalist and a DJ.

These are the 50 men charged with raping Gisèle Pelicto at the order of her husband, Dominic Pelicot, 72, who drugged her for a decade of prescription sleeping pills.

Next week they are expected to be convicted, at the end of a trial that began in September. If convicted, together they face more than 600 years in prison, reports BBC.

Most of them come from towns and villages in a 50km radius of the village of Mazan of Pelicott.

Prosecutors have based their requests on court sentences on serious factors.

Joseph C, 69, a retired sports coach, faces four years in prison for sexual assault if convicted. This is the softest sentence ever sought by prosecutors.

On the other side of the sentence is Rome V, 63, who faces 18 years in prison. He was HIV-positive and accused of raping Gisèle Pelicot on six separate cases without protection, although his lawyer told the court he had treatment for several years and couldn't have passed the virus.

Prosecutors have been able to access this level of detail because, unusually for a rape trial, there is a staggering amount of evidence, as the alleged attacks were filmed over almost a decade by Dominic Pelicot.

He has admitted all charges against him and told the court that all 50 of his co-accuseds are also guilty.

All video evidence shows that none of the men have been able to deny that they've ever gone to Pelicot's house. But most strongly reject accusations of serious rape that would bring severe punishment.

France's rape law defines rape as any sexual act committed by <x0 violence, tribulation, threat or surprise”; there is no reference for any need for consent.