"He is kind of short, introverted and honest-looking and I wouldn't relate him to such atrocities by his appearance," Ming Tian, Dai's lawyer at the first trial, told China Daily.

"He doesn't communicate with people much but he treats his family well and most villagers thought he was a simple and honest guy."

Ming said he doesn't expect a different verdict at the appeal because there is not much new evidence.

One issue that emerged during the investigation is the fact that most of his victims chose to remain silent after they were violated. Many even initially denied they had been raped when they were approached by police.

"In the villages, people are very conservative and any conversation about sex is deemed shameful, even if you are violated, you are ashamed to talk about it," said Chen Wei, a lawyer specializing in women's studies.

"That's the reason why Dai didn't get caught for 17 years. The silence of the women from the shame they felt let him carry on."