French man admits in court to drugging his wife so he and dozens of men could rape her

Diane Jeantet, Associated Press

AVIGNON, France (AP) — A 71-year-old French man admitted successful tribunal Tuesday that for astir a decade, he many times drugged his unwitting woman and invited dozens of men to rape her while she laic unconscious successful their bed.

His woman of 50 years, who has divided him since his arrest, besides sewage to speak, telling nan tribunal that she feels wholly betrayed.

In a proceedings that has gripped France and raised consciousness astir intersexual unit successful nan location and beyond, Dominique Pélicot told nan tribunal that he besides raped his wife, Gisèle Pélicot, and that nan 50 men opinionated proceedings alongside him understood precisely what they were doing.

“Today I support that, on pinch nan different men here, I americium a rapist,″ Dominique Pélicot testified. “They knew everything. They can’t opportunity otherwise.”

RELATED | Man accused of plotting wife’s rape by astatine slightest 50 strangers complete almost 10 years is connected proceedings successful France

Pélicot’s grounds marked nan astir important infinitesimal yet successful a proceedings that has shocked nan world. Although he antecedently confessed to investigators, his tribunal grounds will beryllium important for nan sheet of judges to determine connected nan destiny of his co-defendants, who scope successful property from 26 to 74. Many of them contradict having raped Gisèle Pélicot, saying her then-husband had manipulated them aliases that they believed she was consenting.

Many pursuing nan lawsuit besides dream his grounds mightiness thief explicate why Dominique Pélicot would taxable nan mother of his 3 children to specified unconscionable abuse.

Gisèle Pélicot has go a leader to galore rape victims and a awesome of nan conflict against intersexual unit successful France for agreeing to waive her anonymity successful nan case, letting nan proceedings beryllium nationalist and appearing openly successful beforehand of nan media. She shows up each day, passing done nan courthouse information statement down men accused of raping her. As she near tribunal during a break Tuesday, supporters brought her flowers.

After days of hold owed to what his lawyers said was a kidney chromatic and urinary tract infection, Dominique Pélicot, seated successful a wheelchair, testified that nan charges against him are true. With his ex-wife looking connected from nan packed assemblage and his sound trembling and hardly audible astatine times, he started a agelong time of grounds trying to explicate puerility traumas that he said scarred and molded him into nan personification he became.

“One is not calved a pervert, 1 becomes a pervert,” Pélicot told nan judges aft recounting, sometimes successful tears, being raped by a antheral infirmary caregiver astatine property 9 and being forced to return portion successful a pack rape astatine property 14.

Pélicot besides said that for years, his begetter sexually abused a young woman his family had taken in, and that his relative later said their begetter had invited different men to do nan same.

He regretted that his parents didn’t fto him proceed his studies aft he turned 14. He said that astir that time, he tried to seduce his mother to time off nan location pinch him, but “she ne'er wanted to.”

“I don’t really want to talk astir this, I americium conscionable ashamed of my father. In nan end, I didn’t do immoderate better,” said Pélicot, who faces 20 years successful situation if convicted.

After he said astir his difficult upbringing, Gisèle Pélicot was fixed nan opportunity to reside nan court.

“It is difficult for maine to perceive this. For 50 years, I lived pinch a man. I couldn’t ideate moreover 1 2nd that he could person committed acts of rape,″ she said. “I trusted this man entirely.″

The 2 looked astatine each other, him from down nan dock’s solid model and her from nan witnesser stand.

“I americium guilty,” he told her. “I regret everything I did. I inquire you for forgiveness, moreover if it is unpardonable.”

Asked if she wanted to respond, Gisèle Pélicot turned and near nan stand.

When asked astir his feelings toward his ex-wife, Dominique Pélicot said she didn’t merit what he did.

“From my youth, I retrieve only shocks and traumas, forgotten partially acknowledgment to her,” he said successful tears.

At that moment, Gisèle Pélicot put connected her sunglasses.

Later, Dominique Pélicot said, “I was crazy astir her. She replaced everything. I ruined everything.”

A supermarket information defender caught Pélicot successful 2020 secretly shooting video up women’s skirts, according to tribunal documents. During a hunt of his location and physics devices, constabulary recovered thousands of photos and videos of men engaging successful intersexual acts pinch Gisèle Pélicot while she appeared to beryllium unconscious successful bed.

With nan recordings, constabulary were capable to way down astir of nan 72 suspects they were seeking, but not all.

In summation to nan photos and videos of Gisèle Pélicot, investigators recovered photos of nan Pelicots’ daughter, Caroline Darian, and 2 daughters-in-law that were surreptitiously taken while they were successful their underwear, getting undressed aliases taking showers, according to authorities.

While her mother has stayed remarkably calm passim nan trial, Darian walked retired of nan courtroom Tuesday arsenic her begetter was being asked astir photos of her that were recovered connected his laptop.

″Excuse me, I’m going to vomit,″ she said angrily earlier rushing out. She has written a book astir what happened to her family, called ″And I Stopped Calling you Daddy.″

After retiring, nan Pélicots moved from nan Paris region to a location successful Mazan, a mini municipality successful nan Provence region.

When constabulary officers called Gisèle Pélicot successful for questioning successful precocious 2020, she initially told them her hubby was “a awesome guy,″ according to ineligible documents. They past showed her immoderate photos. She near and later divided her husband.

Since Dominique Pélicot’s arrest, different cases person surfaced. He was fined aft being caught shooting video of a women’s crotch successful 2010 and required to spot a psychologist. Gisèle Pélicot has said she ne'er knew astir this incident.

Under French law, nan proceedings wrong nan courtroom cannot beryllium filmed aliases photographed. Dominique Pélicot has been brought into nan tribunal done a typical entranceway that’s inaccessible for nan media, because he and immoderate different defendants are being held successful custody during nan proceedings and can’t beryllium filmed. Defendants who are not successful custody person been arriving astatine nan courthouse wearing surgical masks aliases hoods to debar having their faces filmed aliases photographed.

Among those hoping to unafraid a spot to watch nan Tuesday’s proceedings was Bernadette Tessonière, a 69-year-old retiree who lives a half-hour thrust from Avignon, wherever nan proceedings is taking place.

“How is it imaginable that successful 50 years of communal life, 1 tin unrecorded adjacent to personification who hides his life truthful well? This is scary,” she said.