[Benjamin]

Warning: This story contains distressing details from the start.

A French woman who was raped by unknown men over 10 years after being drugged to sleep by her husband told a court of her horror at learning how she had been abused.

Gisèle Pélicot, who is 72, was giving evidence on day three of the trial in Avignon, south-east France, of 51 men – including her husband of 50 years, Dominique. All are accused of rape.

Documents before court indicate that Dominique Pélicot, 71, admitted to police that he got satisfaction from watching other men have sex with his unconscious wife.

Many defendants in the case contest the rape charge against them, claiming that they thought they were taking part in a consensual sex game.

This is a case that has shocked France, all the more so because the trial is being held in public.

Gisèle Pélicot waived her right to anonymity to shift the "shame" back onto the accused, her legal team has previously said.

Taking the stand on Thursday, she said she was speaking for "every woman who's been drugged without knowing it... so that no woman has to suffer."

She recalled the moment in November 2020 when she was asked by police to attend an interview alongside her husband.

He had recently been caught taking under-skirt photographs of women at a supermarket, and Gisèle told the court she believed the meeting with police was a formality related to that incident.

“The police officer asked me about my sex life,” she told the court. “I told him I had never practised partner-swapping or threesomes. I said I was a one-man woman. I couldn’t bear any man’s hands on me other than my husband’s.

“But after an hour the officer said, ‘I am going to show you some things which you will not find pleasant’. He opened a folder and he showed me a photograph.

“I did not recognise either the man or the woman asleep on the bed. The officer asked: ‘Madame, is this your bed and bedside table?’

“It was hard to recognise myself dressed up in a way that was unfamiliar. Then he showed me a second photo and a third.

“I asked him to stop. It was unbearable. I was inert, in my bed, and a man was raping me. My world fell apart.”
Gisèle said that up until then their marriage had been generally happy, and she and her husband had overcome a number of financial and health-related difficulties. She said she had forgiven the upskirting after he promised her that it had been a one-off incident.

“All that we had built together had gone. Our three children, seven grandchildren. We used to be an ideal couple.

“I just wanted to disappear. But I had to tell my children their father was under arrest. I asked my son-in-law to stay next to my daughter when I told her that her father had raped me, and had me raped by others.

“She let out a howl, whose sound is still etched on my mind.”

In the coming days, the court will hear more evidence from the investigation, about how Dominique allegedly contacted men via sex-chat websites and invited them to his suburban home in Mazan, a town north-east of Avignon.

Police claim the men were given strict instructions. They had to park at some distance from the house so as to not attract attention, and to wait for up to an hour so that the sleeping drugs which he had given Gisèle could take effect.

They further claim that, once in the home, the men were told to undress in the kitchen, and then to warm their hands with hot water or on a radiator.
Tobacco and perfume were not allowed in case they awoke Gisèle. Condoms were not required.
No money changed hands.

According to the investigation, Dominique watched and filmed the proceedings, eventually creating a hard-drive file with some 4,000 photos and videos on it. It was as a result of the upskirting episode that police found the files on his computer.

Police say they have evidence of around 200 rapes carried out between 2011 and 2020, initially at their home outside Paris, but mainly in Mazan, where they moved in 2013.

Investigators allege that just over half the rapes were carried out by her husband. Most of the other men lived only a few kilometres away.

Asked Thursday by the judge if she knew any of the accused, Gisèle said she recognised only one.

“He was our neighbour. He came over to check our bikes. I used to see him at the bakery. He was always polite. I had no idea he was coming to rape me.”

Gisèle was then reminded by the judge that in order to respect the presumption of innocence, it had been agreed in court not to use the word rape but “sex scene”.

She replied: “I just think they should recognise the facts. When I think of what they have done I am overcome with disgust. They should at least have the responsibility to recognise what they did.”

After the truth emerged, Gisèle found that she was carrying four sexually-transmitted diseases.

“I have had no sympathy from any of the accused. One who was HIV-positive came six times. Not once did my husband express any concern about my health,” she said.

She is now in the process of divorcing him.

After speaking for two hours in front of Dominique and the other accused, she said: “Inside me, it is a scene of devastation. The façade may look solid... but behind it...”

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cd9dwxexp77o

[Kate!]

Truly horrendous

[smudgie]

How absolutely awful.
No condoms, I would have the kids doing a DNA test.
The husband should be locked up for life.

[bots]

i'm sure i watched a tv series where this happened

[Cherie]

Poor woman, this guy is depraved

[arista]

Yes Evil Man.


Like Bill Cosby used drugs to
rape 100's of women.

[GoldHeart]

W T actual F ! utterly horrific & perverted.

How did she even explain this to the kids , that family is never going to be the same again. She married a disgusting monster, how will she ever get over this...10 years of extreme abuse .

[Ammi]

…yesterday it was reported that his daughter, Caroline Darain also left the courtroom in tears when it was being discussed that he also kept naked images of her on his computer..she’s already written a book about the impact of it all on their family…And I Stopped Calling You Daddy…she wrote of how she’s always had a fear that her father invited men to rape her also, since a folder was found titled ‘My Naked Daughter’…a truly depraved and evil man…

[bots]

Originally Posted by Ammi

…yesterday it was reported that his daughter, Caroline Darain also left the courtroom in tears when it was being discussed that he also kept naked images of her on his computer..she’s already written a book about the impact of it all on their family…And I Stopped Calling You Daddy…she wrote of how she’s always had a fear that her father invited men to rape her also, since a folder was found titled ‘My Naked Daughter’…a truly depraved and evil man…

this whole story is insane and it keeps getting worse

[Benjamin]

Originally Posted by Ammi

…yesterday it was reported that his daughter, Caroline Darain also left the courtroom in tears when it was being discussed that he also kept naked images of her on his computer..she’s already written a book about the impact of it all on their family…And I Stopped Calling You Daddy…she wrote of how she’s always had a fear that her father invited men to rape her also, since a folder was found titled ‘My Naked Daughter’…a truly depraved and evil man…

Jesus Christ.

[Niamh.]

All the men who were willing to rape her as well is terrifying

[Mystic Mock]

I honestly am lost for words.

[Ammi]

Originally Posted by Niamh.

All the men who were willing to rape her as well is terrifying

…the men included a fireman, a journalist and a prison guard and they’re all at least facing long sentences also of up to 20 years in prison…it’s just such an incredible story in the most debased and wicked of ways…it’s unimaginable how she must have felt when she found out and the impact on her and the family going forward in their lives…I mean, that she didn’t know a single thing or had any suspicion of wrongdoing at all until he was arrested for an upskirting incident and then all of those images and videos that were found on his phone …to be shown that by the police authorities and told…this is what has been happening, this is what he’s been doing…and this was her husband, someone she trusted…it’s just something that’s so difficult to get thoughts around, isn’t it…that poor, poor woman and family…and now she’s having to go through the court ordeal as well to get the justice this all needs to face…horrendous, where to start to rebuild a life…

[Ammi]

An associate of Dominique Pelicot, the Frenchman man who drugged his wife and invited dozens of men to rape her in a case that has shocked France and the world, told a court that he committed similar crimes against his own wife under Pelicot's influence. Jean-Pierre Marechal met Pelicot on a website where they shared information about drugging and assulting their spouses. Police say Pelicot was among the men who Marechal invited to assault his wife.

An associate of Frenchman Dominique Pelicot, who for a nearly a decade drugged his wife and invited dozens of men to rape her, admitted to copycat abuse of his own partner on Wednesday, blaming his mentor and a troubled childhood.

Police have said Jean-Pierre Marechal, 63, worked with Pelicot to drug and both rape Marechal's wife Cilia after meeting on a now-shuttered website.

The trial of Pelicot and 50 other men accused of raping his wife has shocked the world. It has also triggered protests across France in support of Gisele Pelicot, who has become a symbol of the fight against sexual violence.

Read more‘We believe you’: French demonstrators rally in support of mass rape victim

Wednesday began with more disturbing testimony, as Marechal described how he and his sisters suffered sexual abuse at the hands of his father.

He said it was Pelicot who unlocked his inner demon.


https://uk.yahoo.com/news/associate-...120142938.html

[Niamh.]

This whole story is just so depraved and disgusting. I just can't even comprehend it

[Crimson Dynamo]

Its disgusting but there are things in this story that don't add up for me, anyhoo I'm sure I t will eventually unravel?

[LaLaLand]

Absolutely horrific case. Monsters.

The lady is such a legend for waiving her anonymity though and showing (and rightly so) no shame in all of this. Heroic, brave woman. Inspirational.

[UserSince2005]

Scary the mayor of the town wondering what all the fuss is about “no children were involved, no one was murdered”

[rusticgal]

Originally Posted by LaLaLand

Absolutely horrific case. Monsters.

The lady is such a legend for waiving her anonymity though and showing (and rightly so) no shame in all of this. Heroic, brave woman. Inspirational.

I couldn’t agree more

[Mystic Mock]

I hope that the two guys suffer as much as humanly possible in Prison.

And there is no joke or anything intended, monsters like that deserve to suffer imo.

[Maru]

I have a really hard time following these kinds of stories. I follow court cases in the background while I work sometimes, but I'm limited to what I can stomach...

I'd read he'd blurted out that he was a rapist in court.. but read that in passing. I don't want to imagine what that woman must've felt like to have learned what was really going on...

[arista]

[Ammi]

Gisèle Pelicot rape trial live: Ex-husband Dominique Pelicot guilty on all charges as 51 defendants face court…


Gisèle Pelicot’s ex-husband has been jailed for 20 years after being found guilty of orchestrating her horrific rape in a crime that shocked France.

Dubbed the Monster of Avignon, Dominique Pelicot is one of 47 men who have been convicted in a mass rape trial against 51 men involving Ms Pelicot, that saw her drugged and sexually assaulted over a number of years.

Pelicot has been jailed for the maximum term of 20 years. The others also face up to 20 years imprisonment if convicted in the courthouse in Avignon, southern France. Pelicot, the now ex-husband of the 72-year-old grandmother, previously admitted that for years, he drugged his wife so he and strangers could abuse her while he filmed it.

Prosecutors asked that he get the maximum penalty and for sentences of 10-18 years for the others. They also requested a four-year prison term for another defendant who was tried for aggravated sexual assault.


Stretching over more than three months, the trial galvanised campaigners against sexual violence and spurred calls for tougher measures to stamp out rape culture.

Key Points

Court finds 47 guilty of rape, two of attempted rape, two of sexual assault

Gisèle Pelicot: Inside the rape trial that shocked the world

Dominique Pelicot jailed for 20 years

In pictures: Crowds support Gisèle Pelicot outside courthouse

Five judges set to return verdicts in France’s worst mass rape case

Court finds 47 guilty of rape

09:30 , Alex Croft

The French courts have found 47 men guilty of rape, two guily of attempted rape and two guilty of sexual assault.

The verdicts on France’s worst ever mass rape case were read out this morning after a three-month long trial.

Local judge reads out guilty verdicts

09:26 , Alex Croft

Local judge in the southern French town of Avignon, Roger Arata, has been reading out guilty verdicts for dozens of men accused of raping Gisèle Pelicot.

Mr Arata read out verdicts one after the other against the accused men.

“You are therefore declared guilty of aggravated rape on the person of Mme Gisèle Pelicot”, he told at least 20 of them.

Gisèle Pelicot: Inside the rape trial that shocked the world

09:23 , Alex Croft

Sitting across a courtroom from the husband who drugged and raped her for a decade, along with the complete strangers he invited to join in the attacks, Gisèle Pelicot was the epitome of dignity.

After bravely choosing to waive her right to anonymity, the grandmother has looked each of her rapists in the eye during a gruelling four-month public trial which horrified the world.

The 72-year-old’s remarkable courage in the face of unfathomable abuse and her simple message - that she and other victims of sexual crimes have no reason to feel ashamed - has inspired conversations about rape culture across the globe as she became a symbol of the struggle against sexual violence.

Each day, scores of women queued outside the courtroom in Avignon, France, to applaud Gisele as she entered. She told the trial she wants women who have been raped to know that “it’s not for us to have shame - it’s for them”.

[Cherie]

what a strange case, some men can be so vile, at least he will die where he belongs

[Niamh.]

Originally Posted by Cherie Christmas

what a strange case, some men can be so vile, at least he will die where he belongs

.