Dominique Pélicot tells French trial: ‘I am a rapist’ as he returns to the dock | France

A 71-year-old man accused of drugging his wife so he and a number of strangers could attack her told a French court: “I am a rapist” as he returned to the dock after falling ill.

Dominique Pélicot, using his cane, slowly walked into the courtroom in southern Avignon.

“I am a rapist, just like the others in this room,” Pélicot said, referring to 50 other defendants in the class action trial — men he allegedly recruited online to rape his then-wife, Gisèle Pélicot.

He added: “I am guilty of what I did – I tell my wife, my children, my grandchildren… I regret what I did and I ask for forgiveness, even if it is unforgivable.” He added: “She (Gisèle Pélicot) did not deserve it.”

Referring to the other accused men sitting in court, he said that “everyone knew” he had invited them to rape her. “I am guilty of what I did,” Pélicot said, adding that he had admitted “all the facts.”

Dominique Pélicot is accused of giving Gisèle anti-anxiety drugs over a period of nearly a decade, from 2011 to 2020. While she was unconscious, he raped her and recruited dozens of other men he met online to do the same.

He has pleaded guilty to the charges, but Tuesday is the first day he has spoken at length since his trial began on September 2. The court may also hear more from Gisèle Pélicot, who was in court with Dominique’s brother, Joel.

She told the court: “For me, it’s hard to listen to Mr Pélicot because for 50 years I never imagined for a second that he would rape. It’s hard for me to listen to this today… acts of violence and barbarity. I never thought for a second that he would do this. I had complete trust in this man.”

Dominique Pélicot described a traumatised childhood, saying he was raped at the age of nine by a nurse while he was in hospital with a head injury. He described a violent father and mother who subjected him to brutal sex.

At 14, while an apprentice on a construction site, he was forced to witness and participate in the gang rape of a woman, he said. “It was too much to bear,” he told the court.

He added: “You’re not born a pervert, you become one.”

Beatrice Zavarro, the accused’s lawyer, told AFP on Monday that Dominique Pélicot had a “clot in his bladder” and a kidney infection. However, a medical examination ordered by the presiding judge showed he was fit to appear in court, avoiding a potentially lengthy delay in the proceedings.

Zavarro said the “order of hearings” would be adjusted and Dominique Pélicot would be allowed to “rest regularly”, adding that the health complaints were not an attempt by her client to avoid justice.

His testimony will be crucial for 50 other men aged between 26 and 74 who are on trial, with four of them due to be heard in the coming days. Some of the defendants have admitted he told them he had drugged his then-wife, while others say they believed they were taking part in a swingers’ fantasy.

The case has sparked outrage across France, with thousands demonstrating over the weekend to demand an end to the rapes and to support Gisèle Pélicot. She has asked for the trial to be open to the public to raise awareness of the use of drugs to commit sexual abuse. “Thanks to you, I have the strength to take this fight to the end,” she told demonstrators on Monday.