A French man is accused of drugging his own wife and inviting dozens of men to rape her over nearly a decade.
On Tuesday (17), Dominique Pélicot appeared in a court in Avignon and confessed to the crime: “I am a rapist like the others in this room.”
He added: “I am guilty of what I did – I tell my wife, my children, my grandchildren… I regret what I did and ask for forgiveness, even though it is unforgivable.” He continued: “She [Gisèle Pélicot] didn’t deserve this.”
Dominique Pélicot is accused of giving anxiolytic medications to Gisèle for a period of nearly a decade, from 2011 to 2020. While she was unconscious, he allegedly raped her and recruited dozens of other men he met online to do the same.
He admitted the charges, but on Tuesday (17) it was the first time he spoke at length since the trial began on September 2. The court also heard from Gisèle Pélicot, who was present in court alongside Dominique’s brother, Joel.
According to the BBC, 15 of the 50 defendants in the trial admitted to rape, while most only claimed to have participated in sexual acts.
Gisèle told the court: “For me, it is hard to hear because in 50 years, I never imagined for a second that he could rape. It is hard for me to hear this today… the acts of violence and barbarity. I never thought for a second that he could do this. I had complete trust in that man.”
Pélicot described a childhood in which he suffered trauma, saying he was raped at nine years old by a nurse while he was in the hospital for a head injury. He recounted having a violent father and a mother who was subjected to violent sex.
At 14, as an apprentice on a construction site, he was forced to witness and participate in a gang rape of a woman, he said. “It was very heavy to bear,” he told the court.
He added: “You are not born perverted, you become one.”
His testimony will be crucial for the other 50 men aged between 26 and 74 who are on trial, four of whom are expected to be heard in the coming days. Some of the accused admitted they knew the husband was drugging his then-wife, while others claim they believed they were participating in a swinger couple’s fantasy.
Gisèle Becomes a Symbol in the Fight Against Rape and Harassment
The case has sparked outrage across France, with thousands of people protesting over the weekend to demand an end to rape and in support of Gisèle Pélicot. She had requested that the trial be open to the public to raise awareness about the use of drugs to commit sexual abuse. “Thanks to you, I have the strength to carry this fight to the end,” she told the protesters on Monday (16).
Feminist associations across France praised Gisèle’s courage, and some accompany her daily to the courthouse gates. Elsa Labouret, spokesperson for the Osez le Feminisme association, believes the case marks a turning point in the feminist struggle. “Her attitude is extremely dignified. She rejects shame because it is those who raped her who should bear that burden. Shame is one of the great obstacles to reporting and combating these assaults. We are led to believe that we deserve it, even if we have done nothing. We are told that being a victim of violence impacts our virtue, our bodies, makes us dirty. In the end, this shame plays a significant role in the impunity of the aggressors,” Labouret told El País.
Understand the Case
Gisèle Pélicot was retired and living a quiet life with her husband, children, and grandchildren. Then, one morning, she received a phone call from the police. “You need to come and see some footage,” a police officer told her. Videos were found in thousands of files on her husband’s computer. They showed her lying in bed in a comatose state while being sexually abused by dozens of men her husband had contacted online.
The case came to light in 2020. The couple’s daughter, Caroline Darian, was determined to ensure the case did not go unnoticed. She wrote a book and gave interviews about chemical submission, a crime of which little was known in France. Fueling suspicions that she had been raped by her father, Darian created the association Don’t Put Me To Sleep. She also convinced her mother to turn the trial that began last week in Avignon into a symbol of the fight against this type of crime, which often remains secret when it occurs in a domestic environment.
Source: The Guardian and El País