AVIGNON, France — The sons of the man who organised the mass rape of their mother Gisele Pelicot in a case that has rocked France, asked a court on Monday (Nov 18) to punish him severely and said they would never forgive him.

Dominique Pelicot has admitted in court to inviting dozens of strangers over nearly 10 years to their house to rape his wife, now 71, after he drugged her. Fifty other men are also accused of raping her.

"Our family has been destroyed," one of the sons, 50-year-old David Pelicot, told the court in Avignon. "I expect from this trial that... these men, and that man in the dock (his father), will be punished for the horrors they inflicted on my mother."

At one point, Dominique Pelicot interrupted his son's testimony, saying he wanted to apologise for what he had done. David Pelicot replied: "Never!"

He said he and other family members had destroyed photos to make sure they kept no trace of his father.

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