`I am a rapist,' husband tells French court
Accused of recruiting men to rape his wife
A man on trial for repeatedly drugging his wife and recruiting dozens to rape her while she was unconscious told a French court that he is a rapist — and the other accused men are, too.
The testimony from Dominique Pélicot on Tuesday — his first in the mass rape case that has sent shock waves through the country — appeared to contradict claims from many of the 50 other men who have previously said they did not know his wife was drugged and that she did not consent to the sexual acts.
“I am a rapist, like everyone else in this room. They cannot say otherwise,” Pélicot, 71, said in a courtroom in Avignon.
Investigators have said Gisèle Pélicot was raped while unconscious at least 92 times by at least 72 people; they have identified and charged 51 suspects. The assaults allegedly took place between 2011 and 2020.
Dominique Pélicot, who prosecutors said recruited the men over online platforms to the couple's homes and other locations where they would assault her, faces a litany of charges including rape.
Prosecutors accused Dominique Pélicot of regularly sedating his wife using crushed anti-anxiety medication, without her knowledge. Police said that he laid out strict rules for the men accused of raping his wife, instructing them not to smell of perfume or smoke so as to avoid inadvertently awaking her, a lawyer representing her, Stéphane Babonneau, previously told The Washington Post.
At least 35 of the defendants are contesting the charges, Le Monde reported. Some have said they thought the couple were living out a sexual fantasy.
Pélicot testified that he never forced his co-defendants to do anything.
“They came looking for me themselves. They asked me, I said yes,” he said, according to local media covering the trial.
The woman asked to be identified by her married name, and asked for the trial to take place in open court so the world could know what had happened to her at the hands of her now ex-husband.
According to prosecutors, the years-long alleged sexual assault left Gisèle Pélicot with physical and psychological scars.
She said she only learned of her own alleged mass rape after a separate incident in 2020, when her husband was caught filming three women under their skirts.
After police searched his electronic device, they found hundreds of photos and videos showing the alleged sexual assaults against his wife.
“For 50 years, I lived with a man who I couldn't imagine for even a single second could have committed these acts. I trusted this man completely,” she told the courtroom.