‘Beast of Avignon’ says he still ‘loves’ brutalised wife who he let 72 men rape – as she faces off with monster in court
A TWISTED pensioner who drugged his wife so 72 male strangers could rape her said he “still loves her” in a chilling court confession.
Dominique Pelicot, 71, finally took the stands today at a French criminal court after dodging the harrowing trial for almost a week.
The OAP is accused of “aggravated rape” of his wife Gisèle Pélicot with 50 other men.
He now faces up to 20 years in prison if convicted at the Vaucluse Criminal Court, in Avignon.
Speaking for the first time about his crimes, the sick grandfather admitted to the heinous mass rape of Ms Pélicot that stretched for almost a decade.
Wearing a grey shirt, the French pensioner shuffled into court using a cane to support himself and owned up to his crimes.
He said: “Today, I maintain that, with the obligations we all have, I am a rapist, like everyone in this room. They cannot say otherwise.”
However, as the cross-examination continued, a tearful Mr Pélicot shockingly insisted he “still loves” his ex-wife.
He said: “I loved her well for 40 years and loved her badly for 10 years … I ruined everything, I lost everything. I should never have done that.”
Speaking about his now-ex-wife- Pelicot said he “was very happy with her” and admitted she “did not deserve this.”
“We had three children, and grandchildren, whom I never touched,” he added.
He continued: “I am accused of many things. We are not born perverts, we become them.
“Even if it is paradoxical, I have never considered my wife as an object.”
Pelicot claimed he also “still loves” his three adult children, saying: “They are in my heart.”
In a dramatic twist, Gisele was given permission to react to her ex-husband’s words.
She said: “For me, it is difficult to hear it. For fifty years, I lived with a man who I would never have imagined for a single second that he could do these acts.
“I had complete confidence in this man.”
Last week, psychologists described Pélicot as a “Jekyll and Hyde” character who appeared like a normal husband during the day and then drugged his wife so strangers could rape her at night.
They described him as having a split personality.
Mr Pélicot said of the comments: “I am accused of many things. We are not born perverts, we become them.
“Even if it is paradoxical, I have never considered my wife as an object.”
A report submitted to the court suggested Mr Pélicot displayed a tendency towards “paraphilia” – sexual arousal in atypical situations – and also “somnophilia”– an attraction to unconscious partners.
This made him a “very caring and much-loved husband by day” but “a rapist at night”, psychologist Bruno Daunizeau explained in the report.
The court heard how Mr Pélicot considered himself a “good husband” to the woman he married in 1971 and had three children with.
He said he was “respectful of his wife’s desires and refusals to sex”, but “also had fantasies about swinging” and “got pleasure” in seeing his wife “undergo sexual acts that she normally refused”.
Another psychologist Marianne Douteau told the court that Mr Pélicot still felt his life could have carried on as normal, despite the crimes he has admitted to.
She said Mr Pélicot “complained that this criminal case against him has destroyed his life”.
Mr Pélicot is said to have claimed: “Gisèle would not have known anything, we would have continued to be happy.”
His daughter Caroline Darian, 46, branded him as the “worst sexual predator” as she took the stand on the fifth day of the rape trial.
She told the court: “How do you rebuild yourself from the ashes when your father is undoubtedly one of the greatest sexual predators of recent years?”
Ms Darian was herself secretly photographed in the nude by her father, as were her two sisters-in-law while taking a bath, the court heard.
She is convinced that – like her mother – she was routinely drugged so that her father could sexually assault her.
The photos taken of her were in a file entitled “around my daughter, naked”.
‘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.
She told the court in a composed manner: “If other women [in France] wake up with no memory, they might remember my testimony.
“No woman should suffer from being drugged and victimised. We must address this scourge”.
The mum also described the moment her daughter found out about the allegations that her husband had drugged her before organising the rapes.
Ms Pélicot said: “When I told my daughter, she screamed like a wild beast. I will never forget this.
‘When I told my sons about this, I don’t think they really understood, they were withdrawn and didn’t react much. I think they were in a state of shock. They said don’t say such silly things.
“That evening, the children rang all the time saying don’t disappear – they were worried I might die.”
HORROR DETAILS
Mr Pélicot was first caught in September 2020, when he was arrested for secretly filming up women’s skirts at a supermarket in Carpentras.
His devices were searched, and there were hundreds of photos and pornographic videos of women, including family members.
It was while in custody that Mr Pélicot reported a hard drive, hidden under a printer, which contained a file called “Abuses”.
It classified the nickname and telephone numbers of attackers, together with some 3,800 photos and videos of Gisèle Pélicot being raped, between 2011 and 2020.
The investigators counted around 200 instances of rape, most of them by Ms Pelicot’s husband and more than 90 by strangers.
Investigators drew up a list of 72 suspects besides the husband, and have so far managed to identify 50 of them, aged between 26 and 74.
The French court heard that in some of the heinous footage, Pélicot allegedly takes turns with three other men to rape his wife in one single incident.
In a separate case, Mr Pélicot has been charged with raping and murdering a 23-year-old estate agent in Paris in 1991.
He has admitted one attempted rape in 1999 after DNA testing proved a case against him.
The Avignon aggravated rape case continues, and is due to last until December 21.
Fourteen of the other defendants have admitted rape, while the rest deny any wrongdoing.
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 – messageinfo@supportline.org.uk.
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.