A Frenchman, Dominique Pelicot, has admitted to charges levelled against him for drugging his wife, Gisèle Pellicot, and engaging fifty men to sexually abuse her over a decade before the French court.
Pelicot, aged 71, made this admission in his first testimony at the Criminal Court in Avignon, France, since trial began on 2 September. “I am a rapist like the others in this room.They all knew; they cannot say the contrary,” he asserted, asserting that all 50 co-defendants were culpable of the crime despite only 15 who admitted to rape.
Making her statement before the court, Gisèle said, “It is difficult for me to listen to this. For 50 years, I lived with a man who I would’ve never imagined could be capable of this. I trusted him completely.” She took the decision to remain anonymous following advice by her legal team to make the trial open to the general public to shift “shame“ on the accused.
Gisèle, now an epitome of resilience, was met with loud applause from witnesses as she exited the courtroom. Last weekend, thousands of people gathered across cities in France to offer solidarity to Gisèle and other victims of rape, and the trial has ignited a national conversation on marital rape, consent, and chemical submission.
Mr. Pelicot, at the beginning of his testimony, recounted he faced trauma as a child as he was abused by a male nurse when he was only nine years old. During questioning, Mr. Pelicot revealed he had deliberated on taking his life after he found out of his wife’s infidelity.
During Tuesday’s testimony, Mr. Pelicot continuously reassured the court of his love for his wife and that he never abhorred hatred towards her, even though he treated her badly during those 10 years.One of Gisèle’s lawyers, Stéphane Babonneau, enquired why he never found the need to stop abusing her even after disclosing her medical conditions.
The drugs had adverse effects on his wife as she began to lose weight and hair. She grew anxious as to whether she was developing Alzheimer’s or a brain tumor. He claimed he tried to stop the act, but his addiction grew stronger.
Mr. Pelicot was again charged with drugging and abusing his daughter, Caroline, after discovering nude photos of her on his laptop. He denied this allegation and stated he had never laid a hand on his grandchildren.
He further disclosed he developed an unhealthy interest in this when he met a male nurse in 2010, who introduced him to the idea of drugging his wife and showed him photos of women who were drugged. That marked the beginning of Mr. Pellicot’s acts.
During the investigation phase, thousands of videos were found of the men abusing Mr. Pelicot’s wife. These were helpful for tracking down the 50 accused men.At the hearing, he confessed he filmed them purposely for “pleasure” and also “as insurance.”
Mr. Pelicot appeared determined to dispute the defence strategy the accused persons were using under the claim they did not know they were raping Gisèle but thought she was in agreement with the act.
According to him, he met the defendants on a pornographic website titled “Without her knowledge.” . He stated, “I didn’t force anyone; they came to look for me.” “They asked me if they could come, and I said yes. I never handcuffed and dragged anyone.”Some of the defendants claim Mr. Pelicot manipulated them into thinking they were playing a game in which Gisèle was playing the role of sleeping as part of the game.
Mr. Pelicot dismissed that and said he only manipulated his wife, and the men were aware of what was happening. Mr. Pelicot’s lawyer, Béatrice Zavarro, speaking to French TV, stated that her client was only sharing the truth despite people’s opinions of him. She added that Mr. Pelicot’s confession will continue throughout the trial as he still requests for his wife’s forgiveness. She said, “We will get to the end of this trial, and we will know everything about Dominique Pelicot.”
Mr. Pelicot’s health issue of a kidney infection and kidney stones caused his absence from court for a while, but he’ll continue his testimony while taking the necessary break period.
Author: Salomey Bannor
C: BBC