THE first rape verdicts in the shocking Gisèle Pelicot case have been delivered following the trial of her husband Dominique – dubbed the Devil of Avignon.
Serial rapist Dominique, 72, admitted to inviting dozens of strangers to force themselves on his drugged wife Gisèle, who went years without knowledge of the depraved attacks.
ReutersGisèle Pelicot arrives at court on Thursday morning in Avignon[/caption]
ReutersGisèle smiles defiantly as she walks into court this morning[/caption]
AFPOne of the defendant arrives at the courthouse today wearing a mask, baseball cap and hood to hide his identity[/caption]
DRDominique Pélicot, 72, would drug and rape his wife Gisèle[/caption]
Detectives listed a total of 92 rapes committed by 72 men, of which 51 have been identified.
Fifty of them, including Dominique, stood trial for aggravated rape and attempted rape with another man tried for aggravated sexual assault.
Judges delivered the first verdicts in court on Thursday morning – and if all are found guilty, they collectively face over 600 years in jail.
A panel of five judges found Dominique guilty of all charges, Reuters reports.
Residing judge Roger Atara is now reading out the names of all other co-defendants alongside their charges.
Jean-Pierre Marechal, 63, was the second man to hear a verdict – found guilty of attempted rape and aggravated rape of his own wife.
In a disturbing copycat move he followed Dominique’s lead, drugging his own wife for five years, raping her and inviting Dominique to join in.
One of the youngest co-defendants Charly Arbo, 30, was found guilty of aggravated rape.
Three more men, Christian Lescole, Cyrille Delville and Florian Rocca were also found guilty of aggravated rape.
Pictures showed Gisèle arriving at the courthouse in Avignon for sentencing earlier this morning – smiling defiantly as she strode in.
One of the defendants was seen covering his face with a mask, baseball cap and hood as he made his way inside.
Dominique and his 50 co-defendants all attended to hear verdicts and sentencing – sitting in a glass box inside the courtroom.
Gisèle sat next to her youngest son Florian in court – with lawyers dressed in black robes flanking the family.
The trial – focused on a small, sleepy French town – stunned the country as it was revealed how Dominique would claim to be a “good husband” to Gisele, whom he married in 1971, and a good father to his three children.
Meanwhile behind closed doors, he drugged, raped, and recruited men to abuse his wife.
Dominique was first arrested in September 2020 for secretly filming up women’s skirts at a supermarket in Carpentras.
While in custody, Mr Pelicot reported a hard drive, hidden under a printer containing a file called “Abuses” containing 20,000 images and videos depicting the abuse of his wife.
The incredibly brave Gisele, during the trial, had to sit through more than three months of horrendous testimony.
This included extracts from Pelicot’s collection of homemade abuse videos and images.
Hero Gisele testified in court: “They regarded me like a rag doll, like a garbage bag.”
In court previously, sicko Pelicot confessed: “I am a rapist, like the others in this room.”
AFPGisele’s children attended court with her on Thursday, pictured: Caroline Darian and David Pelicot[/caption]
The serial rapist would show dozens of men how to force themselves on his wife Gisele
ReutersDominique Pelicot appears with his lawyer Beatrice Zavarro at the courthouse in Avignon on December 16, 2024[/caption]
AFPGisele Pelicot (2nd R) followed by her lawyer Stephane Babonneau (R), is congratulated by women outside the Avignon courthouse in November[/caption]
When the sicko spoke for the first time in court in the regional capital of Avignon, he said: “I am guilty of what I did – I say to my wife, my children, my grandchildren.
“I regret what I’ve done and I ask for forgiveness, even if it’s unforgivable.”
He added: “She [Gisele Pelicot] did not deserve this.”
Pelicot has alleged he suffered abuse in his childhood and claimed that he was forced to watch the gang rape of a woman at the age of 14, while working as a building site apprentice.
The sicko added: “You are not born a pervert, you become one.”
Facing justice in court
Gisele Pelicot chose to waive her right to anonymity, allowing the full details of the case to be made public.
Her incredible bravery has rallied thousands of people to support her though Gisele says that she wasn’t looking to create a national conversation.
Instead her choice to have an open courtroom was so that she wouldn’t be stuck in a room with her alleged abuser.
However, she started to receive messages from crowds of people who supported her.
Her lawyer, Stéphane Babonneau, said: “When she started receiving these letters, she felt some kind of responsibility for victims who had suffered similar things.”
Pelicot and his ‘pupils’
Pelicot allegedly gave dozens of men strict instructions so they would not wake Gisele up when they abused her during the night.
These included no aftershave or cigarette odour, all men had to have neat and clipped nails, among other details The Sun has deemed too disturbing to publish.
After parking a few minutes from the couple’s home, the alleged attackers would undress in the kitchen so they would not accidentally leave clothes behind in the bedroom.
It is understood that Dominique did not want the men to leave clothing behind as that would rouse his wife’s suspicion about the horrific abuse she was allegedly suffering.
He reportedly took part in the rapes, filmed them and encouraged the other men using degrading language, according to prosecutors.
No money exchanged hands.
TwitterThe moment Dominique Pelicot was arrested after he was caught filming under the skirts of customers in 2020[/caption]
ReutersDefendants appears in the courtroom during their trial with Dominique Pelicot[/caption]
AFPOne of the 51 men charged passes a security check at the Avignon courthouse during the trial[/caption]
RexA defendant exits the courthouse during the trial in November[/caption]
AFPCo-defendants walk through the security portal as they arrive at the Avignon courthouse early December[/caption]
The one man who is not accused of raping Gisele is Jean Pierre M, 63, who has been dubbed Pelicot’s sick “disciple”.
He learned, like Pelicot did, how to drug his wife in order to abuse her, which he did for five years, he admits.
Jean Pierre blames his crimes on meeting Pelicot who he says was “reassuring, like a cousin”.
Defendants denials
The alleged rapists, aged between 21 and 68, included a forklift driver, a fire brigade officer, a company boss, and a journalist.
Some were single, others married or divorced, and some family men.
While most only took part once, some did so up to six times, it has been claimed.
Some of the accused, like Pelicot, acknowledged they were guilty of rape.
But many did not – even when faced with video evidence.
Some defendants argued that Pelicot’s consent covered the consent of Gisele too.
Others tried to excuse their heinous acts by insisting they hadn’t intended to rape anyone when they responded to Pelicot’s invites.
Pelicot was blamed by some of the defendants, saying he had misled them into thinking they were taking part in a consensual kink.
While others suggested that perhaps Pelicot drugged them too – which he denied.
Gisele’s daughter Caroline
In court, Caroline described her father as one of the “greatest sexual predators” of recent years.
The police discovered that there were semi-nude pictures of Pelicot’s daughter in his “abuses” file.
In the devastating book Et j’ai cessé de t’appeler papa, that translated to And I stopped calling you father, Caroline opens up about her struggle to move on from her father’s crimes.
She details the betrayal that she felt when she first discovered that she had been subject to his alleged abuse.
When shown pictures taken of her by her father, she didn’t recognise herself.
Caroline said: “The quilt was lifted on the right side so you could see her bottom close up. She was sleeping.
“The police officer handed me the second photo.
“The sheets reminded me vaguely of something but nothing more.
“I repeated that I didn’t recognise myself.
AFPGisele Pelicot’s daughter Caroline Darian arrives at the Avignon courthouse in September[/caption]
AFPThis court sketch from September showing Dominique Pelicot in court[/caption]
AFPGisele Pelicot exits the courtroom between sessions at the Avignon courthouse in November[/caption]
AFPBeatrice Zavarro (R), lawyer of defendant Dominique Pelicot, looks on next to Gisele Pelicot (L)[/caption]
“No, it’s not me, I said.”
She realised who the woman was when she realised that the woman has a distinctive mole on her right cheek, just like her.
Caroline wrote: “How could he have photographed me in the middle of the night without waking me?
“Did he also drug me?
“Worse still, did he abuse me?”
After learning about her mother’s suffering at the hands of Pelicot, Caroline launched a non-profit organisation named M’endors Pas (Don’t sedate me).
The organisation hopes to bring awareness to sexual assault which is facilitated by the use of drugs.
Against the law
Protesters have also called for a change to the law.
In France consent is not the deciding factor when it comes to someone being found guilty of rape.
Instead the prosecution have to prove that the offender intended to commit rape.
The defence of most of the accused is that they did not go to the Pelicot home with the intention of sexually assaulting Gisele.
There has also been criticism of the defence lawyers, who have questioned Gisele’s own desires, such as asking whether she ever considered swinging.
How you can get help
Women’s Aid has this advice for victims and their families:
Always keep your phone nearby.
Get in touch with charities for help, including the Women’s Aid live chat helpline and services such as SupportLine.
If you are in danger, call 999.
Familiarise yourself with the Silent Solution, reporting abuse without speaking down the phone, instead dialing “55”.
Always keep some money on you, including change for a pay phone or bus fare.
If you suspect your partner is about to attack you, try to go to a lower-risk area of the house – for example, where there is a way out and access to a telephone.
Avoid the kitchen and garage, where there are likely to be knives or other weapons. Avoid rooms where you might become trapped, such as the bathroom, or where you might be shut into a cupboard or other small space.
If you are a victim of domestic abuse, SupportLine is open Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday from 6pm to 8pm on 01708 765200. The charity’s email support service is open weekdays and weekends during the crisis – messageinfo@supportline.org.uk.
Women’s Aid provides a live chat service – available weekdays from 8am-6pm and weekends 10am-6pm.
You can also call the freephone 24-hour National Domestic Abuse Helpline on 0808 2000 247.
ReutersA slogan reads ‘Justice for Gisele, Justice for all’ and a collage depicting Gisele Pelicot on a city wall[/caption]