Dominique Pelicot admitted drugging his ex-wife Gisèle, raping her, and inviting dozens of men to also abuse her. He is giving evidence in court in France
Dominique Pelicot’s daughter yelled four chilling words at her “lying” dad across a courtroom in France as he gave evidence in the mass rape trial.
During a tense exchange in the courtroom between Pelicot’s lawyer and Dominqiue about files saved on his computer showing pictures of his daughter Caroline naked, he claimed “I never touched her.”
“I can tell her, looking at her straight in the eye, that I never touched her,” he says, adding “Caroline, I never touched you.” Caroline was furious with his answer as she yelled across the room: “You are lying. I am sick of your lies. You’re alone in your lies, you will die lying.” The courtroom was stunned into silence as the pair look at each other across the room, as the ex-husband holds his head in his hands.
“In one of [the pictures] I don’t event recognise the background,” Dominique says. Caroline, who yells across the courtroom at her dad, hits back saying: “It’s my house!”
Dominique Pelicot is currently on trial in France accused of drugging and raping his ex-wife and inviting dozens of other men to rape her while she was unconscious. He has already already admitted to the charges against him.
His wife Gisele has waived her right to anonymity. The victim’s husband has admitted he recruited men online to rape Gisèle over the course of a decade, while she was under the effect of sedatives and sleeping pills.
Since the hearings started on September 2, Pelicot has come face-to-face almost daily with her ex-husband Dominique Pelicot and 49 other alleged rapists. She has been praised for her courage and composure, admired for speaking in a calm and clear voice and allowing that her full name be published — uncommon under French law for victims in rape trials. Some defendants claim Pelicot’s husband tricked them, others say he forced them to have sexual intercourse with her and that they were terrified. Still others argue they believed she was consenting or that her husband’s consent was sufficient.
After Dominique spoke about his difficult upbringing, Gisèle Pélicot was given the opportunity to address the court. “It is hard for me to hear this. For 50 years, I lived with a man. I couldn’t imagine even one second that he could have committed acts of rape,″ she said. “I trusted this man entirely.″
The two looked at each other, him from behind the dock’s glass window and her from the witness stand. “I am guilty,” he told her. “I regret everything I did. I ask you for forgiveness, even if it is unpardonable.”