The ex-girlfriend of a co-defendant who killed a rapist told a French court in a drug rape trial that she may have gone through the same thing

AVIGNON (Reuters) – The former partner of a co-defendant in a gang rape trial that sparked horror and protests in France broke down in tears on Monday and told the court she had been “living a lie” and may have been sexually abused herself.

“I don't know if I was raped,” Emilie O. said in front of a criminal court in the southeastern French city of Avignon. “It's terrible, I will always have doubts.”

Emilie O. is a former partner of Hugues M., one of dozens of men accused of being involved in the gang rape of Gisele Pelicot, which lasted over ten years.

Gisele's then-husband, Dominique Pelicot, admitted to drugging her until she was unconscious and inviting strangers to his house to rape her.

The 71-year-old has been on trial since the beginning of the month along with 50 other men aged between 26 and 74. Many of them deny the allegations.

Emilie O. said that she herself may have been drugged and sexually abused by Hugues M., her former partner.

“I was manipulated and lived a lie,” said Emilie O., who had lived with the man for five years.

“I still question everything,” she said, without looking at her former partner.

“I was stunned”

As Emilie O. told her story, she burst into tears and looked at Gisele Pelicot, who returned her smile with understanding.

The 33-year-old said she first met Hugues M. online and the two shared a passion for motorcycling.

She described Hugues M. as a respectful and considerate man, but added that he had been unfaithful to her repeatedly.

Emilie O. said he told her that he needed “adrenaline, which he only found in motorcycling and sexual relations.”

When she learned of the charges against her former partner in 2021, she began to see her life with him in a different light.

Her life was turned upside down when she received a call from the Avignon police.

“I was summoned and told that Hugues had raped a woman in October 2019, a few days before my birthday,” she said.

“I didn't believe them, I was stunned, shocked. I asked to see the photo and then I realized it wasn't a nightmare,” she said.

Hugues M. was charged with “attempted rape” because he failed to penetrate him.

She began to doubt their entire relationship and believed that the same thing might have happened to her as had happened to Gisele Pelicot.

One night in 2019, she was awakened by her partner trying to digitally penetrate her, Emilie O. said. She filed a complaint, but it was dismissed due to “lack of physical evidence.”

Between September 2019 and March 2020, she also suffered from “dizziness,” but investigators were unable to detect any substances that might have had an effect on her at that time.

Gisele Pelicot testified that she had suffered from strange memory lapses and other health problems for years and believed she might have Alzheimer's disease.

Missed the birth of daughter

In addition to Hugues M., the court began taking evidence against five other defendants.

Among them was Joan K., the youngest of the 50 co-defendants, who was 22 years old at the time of the alleged attacks.

In 2019, on one of the occasions on which he is alleged to have sexually abused Gisele Pelicot, he was absent from the birth of his own daughter, a profiler told the court.

He is suspected of having visited the couple's house in Mazan to rape Gisele Pelicot twice.

Joan K. was in a relationship with a woman he had met on the Internet. However, their time together was marked by “numerous” conflicts and “extramarital relationships,” the court explained.

At the time of the separation, Joan K.’s partner was pregnant.

Co-defendant Andy R. testified that he went to the Pelicot family home on December 31, 2018, but said he “had no intention of raping anyone.”

Like other defendants, the 37-year-old said he believed it was “a sexual game” between the Pelicot couple – a defense that is called into question by Dominique Pelicot's testimony.

When asked whether Gisele Pelicot had consented, Andy R. replied: “Since my husband gave me permission, she agreed to it on my behalf.”

The hearing will continue on Tuesday with the psychological examination of these six defendants.

Gisele Pelicot became a feminist icon overnight and received praise for calling for the trial to be made public to raise awareness about drug abuse.

At the weekend, a letter of support for Gisele Pelicot signed by over 200 high-ranking men was published in the French daily Liberation.

Thousands took part in protests in support of Gisele Pelicot in September, and on Monday women's rights groups called for new demonstrations in support of survivors of sexual violence.

“The trial of the Mazan rapists has triggered unprecedented emotions,” said 30 associations, calling for “decisive action” from the new government. — AFP