Dominique Pelicot confesses to rape and admits decades of sexual abuse of his wife

Issued on: 17.09.2024 – 20:17Changed: 17.09.2024 – 20:20

2 minutes

Pelicot, 71, asked for forgiveness but said he was no different from the 50 other men he recruited online for sexual abuse, and that they all knew what they were getting into.

Decade of abuse

“I am a rapist, like the others in this room,” he said, referring to his co-defendants.

“She doesn’t deserve this,” he added.

Dominique Pelicot is accused of administering anti-anxiety drugs to his ex-wife Gisèle over a period of almost a decade, from 2011 to 2020.

He is accused of raping her while she was unconscious and of inciting dozens of other men he met online to do the same.

A man is on trial in France for allegedly hiring strangers to rape his drugged wife

Pelicot had admitted the allegations, but on Tuesday he spoke in more detail for the first time since the trial began on September 2.

He spoke of his “difficult” childhood and said his parents “attacked” each other.

He briefly mentioned two “traumatic” experiences, as he described them: a rape at the age of nine and another rape on a construction site as an apprentice.

“I have always carried these traumatic experiences with me,” he said. “You are not born like this, you become like this,” he added.

His ex-wife Gisèle Pelicot, who divorced him last month, remained stoic during his speech and then took the witness stand herself.

“I never doubted this man for a single second,” she said.

“I loved this man for 50 years. I would have sacrificed my own hands for him.”

“I am guilty”

Her ex-husband then asked her and others for forgiveness.

“She doesn’t deserve this,” he said.

“I am guilty for what I have done. I ask my wife, my children, my grandchildren… to accept my apology. I ask for forgiveness,” he said.

“I messed everything up… I have to pay for it.”

He also apologized to another woman in the case whose husband is accused of raping her under heavy sedation after acting in the same manner.

However, he said he never abused his two sons and daughter.

“I had three children I never touched,” he said.

The investigation revealed that Pelicot had nude pictures of his daughter on his computer as well as intimate photos of his two daughters-in-law that had been taken without their knowledge.

Appearance in court

The main defendant was excused from the hearings for much of last week and did not appear on Monday.

His lawyer Beatrice Zavarro told the French news agency AFP that he was suffering from “a blood clot in the bladder” and the beginning of a kidney infection.

However, a medical examination ordered by the presiding judge showed that he was fit to stand trial, thus avoiding a delay of weeks or even months in the hearings.

The case sparked outrage across France. Thousands demonstrated in cities over the weekend to demand an end to the rapes and to support Gisele Pelicot.

Rallies across France in support of a drugged and raped woman

“Shame must change sides,” read several posters, echoing Gisèle Pelicot’s words that rapists should be ashamed – not their victims.

Gisèle thanked the demonstrators on Monday.

“Thanks to you, I have the strength to see this fight through to the end,” she said.

(with AFP)