Andy Rodriquez, one of 50 men accused of raping Gisèle Pelicot, says he was first approached by her husband Dominique, who asked if he wanted to have sex with his wife “while I watch”
A dad-of-two accused in the French rape trial has told a court claimed he participated in the alleged sexual abuse on New Year’s Eve because he had “nothing else to do.”
37-year-old Andy Rodriquez is one of 50 men accused of raping now 71-year-old Gisèle Pelicot after she was drugged by her husband Dominique, who for nearly 10 years invited dozens of men to assault her as she lay defenceless.
The farm worker told the court in Avignon that he was an “alcoholic since 14 and a regular user of cocaine” as he admits to having sex with the victim but denies rape. Rodriguez admitted he met Mrs Pelicot on New Year’s Eve at a house in Mazan after he was approached in a bar by her husband.
Rodriguez, who was 31 at the time and married with two children, said: “I was in a bar once when a man approached me and said ‘My wife likes you, would you like to sleep with her while I watch? I agreed and it happened that same night, with Pelicot I met him New Year’s Eve as I had nothing else to do.
“I had fallen out with my brothers because of my drinking and drug habit so I went to Pelicot’s house. I never had any intention of raping Mrs Pelicot.”
The suspect said he had never had a swinging experience before but after exchanging messages he was soon at the house. He added: “I’d had a bath, I’d put aftershave on, I’d got ready. An hour after exchanging messages on Coco.fr (swinging site) I was at his house.” As the defendant gave his evidence, Gisèle sat listening and occasionally shaking her head, with her son David near to her.
It comes after the court heard the youngest man accused had sex with “unconscious” Gisèle Pélicot on the day his daughter was born. Joan Kwai, who was born in Guyana but moved to France as a teenager, was 23 when he first went to the house in November 2019, the day his daughter was born. He went back another time and was due to visit for a third but it was cancelled by Pelicot.
Kwai, now 26, told investigators he had not asked himself the question of whether Mrs Pelicot had consented. The images were shown to the court of Ms Pélicot naked and conscious, in “lewd” positions, and of her crotch. Before they were displayed, the woman’s daughter Caroline Darian left the courtroom in Avignon, southern France, at her mother’s request.
But after being confronted with the horrific photos, he admitted that she was unconscious and that it was a rape. At the beginning of the trial, he said he “recognised the facts, but not the intention”.
Gisèle Pelicot, who was married to her husband for 50 years and shares three children with him, has become a hero to many rape victims and a symbol of the fight against sexual violence in France for waiving her anonymity in the case, letting the trial be public and appearing openly in front of the media.
The trial continues.
