THE wife of the “Beast of Avignon” had to endure 27 photos of her harrowing rape being shown to a hushed court.
Gisèle Pélicot was drugged by her twisted husband Dominique Pelicot, 71, so that 72 men he recruited online could rape her over the course of 10 years.
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The 72-year-old voiced outrage to the court about the way the lawyers for some of the 50 men accused had relayed their claims that they believed she had consented and was enacting a fantasy when they had sex with her.
Dominique Pélicot, 71, told the court on Tuesday that he had organised the rape of his wife by 49 of the men over a decade after secretly sedating her.
She had known nothing about her ordeal until police found video of the crimes on his phone.
Twenty-seven images were shown to the court in silence yesterday, including Ms Pelicot naked and conscious, reports say.
She said she had no memory of the pictures being taken.
Sixteen of the accused are denying guilt, claiming that they believed claims by Pélicot that they were playing a “libertine” game when they were invited to the couple’s home at Mazan, near Avignon, where the trial is taking place.
Before the men gave evidence, Mrs Pélicot, who has gone public to expose the horrors of conjugal sexual violence, addressed the court.
“Today forgiveness does not exist,” she said, adding that she was furious with the defence lawyers’ conduct since the trial opened on September 2.
“Since I arrived in this court, I have felt humiliated,” she said.
“They have treated me as an alcoholic, making out that I get into an inebriated state in a way that makes me an accomplice of Mr Pélicot.
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“In the state that I was in, I absolutely couldn’t reply to anything at all.
“I was in a state of coma, and the videos that they are going to show are going to prove that,” she added.
While her life had been “destroyed” for ten years, she said: “I get the impression that I’m the guilty party and the 50 men behind me are victims.”
The Pélicots’ daughter, Caroline, photographs of whom were found on her father’s devices alongside images of her mother being raped, was on the verge of tears as her mother spoke.
After dodging giving evidence due to poor health, Dominique Pelicot took the stand at the Vaucluse Criminal Court, in Avignon, on Tuesday.
The vile grandfather made the twisted claim he recruited scores of men to rape his wife Gisèle Pélicot because he was “utterly idle” in retirement.
Pélicot is on trial alongside 50 other men charged with “aggravated rape” of his wife.
He now faces up to 20 years in prison if convicted of the horror crimes.
Asked by a defence lawyer how he “picked up dozens of strangers” to rape his wife, Pélicot said: “I didn’t pick anyone up, they came and got me themselves.
“They asked me and I said yes. They agreed and came to my home. I didn’t handcuff anyone to my home.”
He told the court there was a tripod and camera in the bedroom, “for all to see”, and that he respected everyone who turned up.
He said: “I trusted these men who knew why they were coming.”
There was also intense drama when Pélicot faced his only daughter, Caroline Darian, in court.
His daughter has previously claimed that she was also drugged by her sicko father.
However, he denied the claim in court.
‘TORTURE CHAMBER’
Police found images on Mr Pélicot’s camera and laptop that showed multiple alleged rapes of his wife between 2011 and 2020.
Ms Pélicot had remained silent during the first three days of the rape trial but took the stands last Thursday to speak about the harrowing case.
The brave mum stood tall and faced dozens of men accused of sexually assaulting her while she allegedly lay unconscious.
Ms Pélicot said she does not know how she survived the atrocities that spanned over nine years by her husband who she thought was the love of her life.
She described the bedroom where she was raped as a “torture chamber”.
“I don’t know how I survived … I ask myself how I am standing before you,” she told the court.
The mum even said she could have never “imagined” she was drugged “even for a single second”.
“I lost 10 years of my life. Those are years I will never get back.”
Ms Pelicot revealed she thought of taking her own life, but with the support of her family and children, she gathered the courage to build a new identity.
Ms Pélicot could have chosen to stay anonymous and let the trial happen behind closed doors under French laws.
But she decided to come out and speak of the horror she faced as she told the court “no woman should suffer” what she did.
The trial continues.
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 – [email protected].
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.