Mayor of French town apologizes for his comments downplaying mass rape case

MAZAN, France — The mayor of a French town making headlines for the trial of dozens of men accused of rapes that occurred there over almost a decade has apologized for comments that appeared to downplay the case.

“I have 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, said in a statement Thursday. "I understand that these remarks are shocking and I sincerely apologize.”

Dominique Pelicot, 71, told the court this week in the nearby city of Avignon that for nearly 10 years he drugged his wife and invited dozens of men to rape her as she lay defenseless.

In an interview with the BBC, Bonnet said the case could have been far more serious.

“There were no children involved, no women were killed, the family will have a hard time but they can rebuild. After all, nobody died,” he told the broadcaster.

Gisèle Pelicot, who was married to her husband for 50 years and had three children with him, has become a hero to many rape victims and a symbol of the fight against sexual violence in France for waiving her anonymity in the case, letting the trial be public and appearing openly in front of the media.

Her ex-husband and the 50 other men on trial, who range in age from 26 to 74, face up to 20 years in prison if convicted.

“This terrible story has deeply wounded our community," the mayor said in the statement. "But I am fully aware that this wound is in no way comparable to the suffering of Gisèle Pelicot and her family.”