A 72-year-old woman appeared in court to face 51 men accused of sexually assaulting her while she was drugged unconscious by her husband.
Gisèle Pélicot has waived her right to anonymity to insist that her rape trial remains public so “this never happens again”.
In a case that has appalled France, Dominique Pélicot, 71, a retired electricity worker and father of three, is charged with inviting men to have intercourse with Gisèle, his wife of almost 50 years, via a now-banned website in a section called “a son insu” (without her knowledge).
Police counted 92 rapes committed by 72 men, of whom 51 were formally identified, over 10 years.
According to her lawyers, Mrs Pélicot was so heavily sedated with date rape drugs that she had “no recollection” of the abuse she suffered at the couple’s large home with a swimming pool in the village of Mazan near Carpentras in Provence.
Defence lawyers and the prosecuting magistrate had called for the trial, which began on Monday at the Vaucluse Criminal Court in Avignon, to be held behind closed doors as is often the case in rape cases.
They pointed out that footage shot by the husband would be shown to the court and that “not only would it be dangerous to hold the proceedings in public, but it would also undermine the dignity of the individuals concerned”. Some defence lawyers also called for the trial not to become “a spectacle”.
But Mrs Pélicot insisted the trial should not be shut to the public and journalists because “that’s what her attackers would have wanted”, said Antoine Camus, one of her lawyers.
“She is completely determined to face them and her husband with whom she lived for 50 years but whom she knew nothing about, as she discovered at 68,” he added.
Before police revealed footage of the abuse she unwittingly endured, she had described her husband as a “kind and caring” father and grandfather. But Mrs Pélicot, who has begun divorce proceedings, told the judge: “He disgusts me, I feel dirty, soiled, betrayed. It’s a tsunami, I’ve been hit by a high-speed train.”
Stephane Babonneau, another lawyer, said: “She was dreading this moment but is relieved that the hearing is open and that she will not be locked up for four months with her assailants.
“She wants to raise awareness as widely as possible about date rape drugs so that this never happens again.”
Mrs Pélicot arrived in court in dark glasses and with the couple’s three children, two sons and daughter Caroline Darian, who has written a book inspired by the case called And I Stopped Calling You Daddy.
Protesters from two feminist groups, Les Amazones d’Avignon and Osez le féminisme 84, demonstrated outside the courthouse on Monday chanting: “Rapists, we see you, victims, we believe you.”
Mr Pélicot, a white-haired retiree in a black T-shirt, appeared only to confirm his address, telling the judge: “You know my home, it’s prison.”
The defendants, 18 of whom have been in detention awaiting the trial, were aged from 21 to 68 at the time of the alleged rapes. They include a fireman, lorry driver, municipal councillor, IT worker in a bank, prison guard, nurse and a journalist.
Some were single, others married or divorced, and some family men. Most participated just once in the alleged sexual assault of Mrs Pelicot, some up to six times.
Police began to investigate Mr Pélicot in September 2020 when he was caught by a security guard secretly filming under the skirts of three women in a shopping centre.
Examining his computer, they found thousands of pictures and videos of his wife, visibly unconscious. He would then meticulously film and archive their sexual acts, keeping the footage in a file called “ABUSES” on a USB.
According to the 400-page indictment, the abuse started in 2011 when the couple were living near Paris and continued after they moved to Mazan two years later until 2020.
The suspect is said to have given the men strict instructions when they abused his wife during the night. Tobacco and perfume were banned to avoid strong smells that could awaken her.
The men are accused of washing their hands in hot water to avoid a sudden change of temperature and undressing in the kitchen to avoid leaving any clothes in the bedroom. The prosecution claims they also parked near a school and walked in the dark to the house to avoid arousing neighbours’ suspicions.
Béatrice Zavarro, Mr Pélicot’s lawyer, said her client felt huge remorse.
“He is ashamed of what he has done, it’s unforgivable,” she told reporters, adding that his criminal acts were part of “a form of addiction”.
“He recognises what he has done,” she added.
Most defendants maintain they believed they were taking part in the consensual fantasies of a libertine couple. One denied it was rape, saying: “It’s his wife, he does what he likes with her.”
However, Mr Pélicot told judges that “everyone knew” that his wife was drugged and unconscious.
The investigating magistrate also argued that “each individual had free will” and could have “left the premises”.
They face up to 20 years behind bars.
Mrs Pélictot’s lawyer, Mr Camus, said the family hopes the trial will shed light on the true nature of the patriarch.
“Who is this man that they thought they knew? How far did he go? When did this all start and what else has he done?” he asked.
In a separate case, Mr Pélicot has also been charged with raping and murdering a 23-year-old estate agent in Paris in 1991, which he denies, and an attempted rape in 1999, to which he admitted after DNA testing.
Experts said he does not appear to be mentally ill but reportedly concluded that he needed to feel “all-powerful” over the female body in assessments included in court documents.
Mr Pélicot, who said he himself was raped by a male nurse when he was nine, is ready to face “his family and his wife” said his lawyer, Ms Zavarro.
The trial continues.
