A bank manager in France has been sentenced to 25 years in prison after being accused of raping, torturing and selling his ex-girlfriend for seven years. The woman, 42-year-old Laëtitia R, said the man, Guillaume Bucci, controlled her mentally and forced her into prostitution.
The case comes as France is already dealing with another child abuse scandal in schools and two years after the shocking Gisele Pelicot case.
According to AFP, Bucci allegedly used sadomasochistic sex games as an excuse to torture and rape his partner, sometimes involving strangers he contacted online.
The 51-year-old man claimed that his ex-girlfriend agreed to the acts and said he did not believe he was hurting her.
However, Laëtitia R said Bucci had strong psychological control over her throughout their relationship.
Woman Says Abuse Turned From BDSM Into Years Of Violence
During the trial, the woman said the abuse started after her former partner introduced the idea of sadomasochism. She told the court that at first, she thought it only meant things like spanking, tying up, and other BDSM activities. But later, she said, it became “pure violence.”
She said Bucci had promised that they would stop if she was uncomfortable, but the abuse continued for the next seven years.
According to her, she was regularly beaten with belts, cutting boards, and electrical cables, and was also strangled.
The mother of three said she lived in constant fear because Bucci threatened to release videos of the sexual abuse if she tried to leave him, forcing her to stay in the relationship.
The court was shown hundreds of text and voice messages in which Bucci allegedly threatened to kill her if she did not obey him, showing that she was acting against her will.
“Little by little, I felt like I was dying inside. Every time he forced me into these acts, a part of me broke forever,” she told the court, according to The Telegraph.
Victim Says She Was Forced Into Prostitution With Hundreds of Men
The sadomasochistic acts later turned into forced prostitution, with Bucci pressuring Laëtitia to have sex with other men. She remembered an incident in 2015 when he told her to go to a motorway station on Christmas Eve and “offer herself to strangers.”
According to Laëtitia, Bucci later forced her to sleep with his friends, colleagues, and other strangers, while keeping a list of the men involved.
“I stopped counting after 487 men, and some of them met me up to 10 times,” she said. She also told the court that the abuse caused serious long-term physical and mental health problems.
Laëtitia further said that in 2017, the same day she left the hospital after giving birth to their daughter, Bucci forced her to perform a sexual act on a truck driver.
France Court Sentences Guillaume Bucci to 25 Years in Prison
Laëtitia told the court that she was inspired by the case of Gisele Pelicot and decided to file a complaint. She said that unlike Pelicot’s case, where the victim was drugged by her husband, Bucci kept her fully conscious during the abuse on purpose.
After hearing both sides, the court sentenced Bucci to 25 years in prison. The judges said he must serve at least two-thirds of the sentence before he can apply for parole.
Prosecutors had asked for a life sentence, saying there was a risk he could harm another woman in the future.
According to local reports, Bucci had already spent four years in custody before the trial. His name has also been added to the sex offenders register.
The court also banned him from contacting Laëtitia or her children, including their 8-year-old daughter. He lost all parental rights as well.
Reports further said he is banned from owning animals after admitting that he shot and killed a cat and forced Laëtitia into acts involving animals.
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