WARNING: This story contains distressing details from the beginning.
A French woman who was raped by an unknown man more than a decade after being drugged to sleep by her husband has told a court she was horrified when she learned of her abuse.
Gisèle Pélicot, 72, gave evidence on the third day of her trial in Avignon, southeastern France, against 51 men, including her husband of 50 years, Dominique . All have been charged with rape.
Dominique Pélicot, 71, admitted to police that he derived satisfaction from watching other men have sex with his unconscious wife, according to court documents.
Many of the defendants in the case dispute the rape charges against them, claiming they believed they were engaging in consensual sex play.
It was a case that shocked France, not least because the trial was held in public.
Gisele Pellicot’s legal team previously said she waived her right to anonymity to pass on the “shame” to the defendants.
She said during her court appearance Thursday that she was speaking out for “every woman who has been drugged without their knowledge… so that no woman has to suffer.”
She recalled the moment in November 2020 when police asked her to be interviewed along with her husband.
He was recently caught taking upskirt photos of women in a supermarket and Gisele told the court she believed the meeting with police was just a formality in relation to the incident.
“The police asked me about my sex life,” she told the court. “I told him I had never practiced swinging partners or threesomes. I said I was a single woman. I couldn’t stand the hands of any man except my husband’s hands.
“But an hour later, the officer said, ‘I’m going to show you something that you won’t find pleasant.’ He opened a folder and showed me a photo.
“I don’t recognize the man or woman sleeping in the bed. The policeman asked: ‘Ma’am, is this your bed and nightstand?’ “
“I had trouble recognizing myself in unfamiliar clothes. Then he showed me a second and third photo.
“I asked him to stop. It was unbearable. I was lifeless in bed and a man was raping me. My world collapsed.
Gisele said their marriage has been generally happy so far, and that she and her husband have overcome some financial and health difficulties. She said she forgave the skirt-stealing after he assured her it was a one-time incident.
“Everything we built together is gone. Our three children, seven grandchildren. We were an ideal couple.
“I just wanted to disappear. But I had to tell my children that their father was arrested. I asked my son-in-law to stay with my daughter when I told her that her father raped me and had others rape me. around.
“She let out a howl and that sound is still etched in my mind.”
In the coming days, the court will hear more evidence from an investigation into how Dominique contacted men through sex chat websites and invited them to his suburban home in Mazan, a town northeast of Avignon.
Police claimed the men were given strict instructions. They had to park far away from the house so as not to attract attention and wait up to an hour for the sleeping pills he gave Giselle to take effect.
They further claimed that upon returning home, the men were asked to take off their clothes in the kitchen and then warm their hands with hot water or a radiator. Tobacco and perfume are not allowed to avoid waking Gisele. No condom required.
No money changes hands.
According to the investigation, Dominic watched and filmed the entire process, ultimately creating a hard drive file containing approximately 4,000 photos and videos. The files were found on his computer as a result of the skirt-stealing incident.
Police said they had evidence of around 200 rapes between 2011 and 2020, initially at their home outside Paris but mainly in Mazan, where they moved in 2013.
Investigators said more than half of the rapes were committed by her husband. Most other people live a few kilometers away.
When the judge asked Gisele on Thursday if she knew any of the defendants, she said she recognized only one.
“He was our neighbour. He came over to check on our bikes. I had met him before at the bakery. He was always polite. I had no idea he was going to come and rape me.
The judge then reminded Gisele that in order to respect the presumption of innocence, the court had agreed not to use the word “rape” but to use “sexual scene.”
She responded: “I just think they should recognize the truth. When I think about what they did, I feel disgusted. They should at least have a responsibility to admit what they did.
After the truth emerged, Gisele discovered she had four sexually transmitted diseases.
“I received no sympathy from any of the defendants. An HIV-positive person came six times. Not once did my husband express any concern for my health,” she said.
She is now divorcing him.
“Inside me, it’s a scene of destruction,” she said, two hours after speaking before Dominic and another defendant. “It may look solid on the outside… but underneath…”
