A security guard who helped put evil Dominique Pelicot behind bars has spoken out about his role in bringing the rapist’s terrible crimes to light.
French pensioner Pelicot drugged and raped his wife Gisele Pelicot, 72, for years – all while inviting more than 50 strangers to commit the same depraved acts. The sickening plot was carried out at their family home in the quiet Medieval town of Mazan, in Provence-Alpes-Côte d’Azur, France.
A total of 51 men were involved in the disturbing mass rape trial that shocked the world and saw brave Gisele emerge as a voice for survivors, with her rallying cry of “shame must change sides”.
Pélicot, 72, was jailed for 20 years yesterday, while a collective total of 400 years worth of jail time was handed out to 50 other defendants. It was determined that, between the years 2011 and 2020, perverted Pélicot, had been running an online chatroom titled ‘without her knowledge’ where he would recruit men to violate his unconscious wife.
Several of these men returned to abuse Gisele on repeated occasions. The horrifying campaign of abuse finally came to light in 2020, shattering grandmother Gisele’s family forever and casting a dark shadow over a seemingly idyllic community.
During the trial, Gisele took the time to thank a supermarket security guard – whose quick thinking ultimately led to twisted Pelicot’s downfall.
On Saturday, September 12, 2020, when Covid restrictions were still in place, Pelicot visited the LeClerc shopping centre, a short drive away from the family home. Staff members were busy making sure customers were abiding by strict safety regulations, ensuring vaccination certificates were produced, and masks were worn, all while only admitting a certain number of people to the store at any one time.
It was then that Pelicot seized the opportunity to carry out his sick perversions, using his phone to take upskirting pics of female customers, many of whom were wearing dresses and skirts in the warm weather. Having gotten away with his disturbing behaviour for so long, the pervert seemingly assumed he would yet again go unnoticed.
Little did he know that his repulsive actions had been picked up on CCTV by a woman monitoring the cameras. It was then that she radioed the security staffer, only referred to as M. Rey in court documents seen by The Mirror, who refused to let the pensioner get away with it.
M. Rey told the Mail Online: “We worked out that the phone was jutting out of this bag, and he was filming up their skirts. We saw him do this to three women, and he was obviously pretty good at it. It didn’t look like the first time he had done it.
“I went and found the first victim, but she didn’t want to make a complaint. She just said she hadn’t got time. But when my colleague in the surveillance room told me he was still at it, with a different woman, I decided to confront him directly – this time using the strong-arm method, to impress on the victim just how serious the offence was.”
Footage shows the security guard confronting the vile rapist, grabbing his phone and holding his arm, all while urging the victim to wait for officers to arrive. Pelicot, who is seen clad in red shorts and a grey T-shirt, is then ordered “not to move” and informed that police are on their way, the Daily Express reports. After being branded “disgusting”, Pelicot was then told that women would be asked to give testimony against him. He was also told not to move nor to delete any of the disturbing footage he’d taken.
Remembering how he encouraged the victim to stay put, the employee recalled: “I told her: ‘If you don’t press charges, he will just go home and do this again’. I was thinking of my mother and sister, who shop here, so it got a bit personal. Pelicot didn’t resist. He froze with terror. I saw the fear in his eyes.”
His instincts proved correct as this was not Pelicot’s first voyeurism offence. Back in 2010, the predator had been arrested for the same offence in a Paris supermarket, but his punishment proved to be more of a ticking-off than anything substantial, with officers failing to run a DNA check.
This time around, Pelicot’s luck had run out, with a search of his family home revealing the true depths of his depravity. A trawl of the property recovered more than 20,000 videos and pictures of Gisèle being abused by himself and others on his laptop, stored on a USB drive under files with names that included ‘Abuses’, ‘her rapists’, and ‘night alone’. Another file named “Around my daughter, naked”, contained images of their daughter Caroline Darian.
For years, Gisèle had been puzzled by the blackouts she’d been experiencing and had feared that she was unwell. When the truth emerged, it was beyond anything she could have imagined. Speaking in court, Gisèle, who courageously waived her right to anonymity, opened up about the unfathomable betrayal. She said: “I wish I could still call him Dominique. We lived together for 50 years, I was a happy, fulfilled woman. You were a caring, attentive husband, and I never doubted you. We shared laughter and tears. I am trying to understand how this man, who to me was perfect, could have done this. How can he have betrayed me at this point? How could you let these strangers into my bedroom?”
The couple’s daughter, Caroline, 46, had no idea of the atrocities that had gone on behind closed doors, “screamed” when her mother broke the news. Gisèle remembered: “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.”
Going forward, dedicated M. Rey will reportedly be awarded France’s highest commendation, the Legion d’Honneur.A fundraiser has praised his “remarkable diligence”, as per The Independent, stating: “This fundraiser aims to recognise and promote the work of security guards, who are often poorly paid for difficult and arduous work, by highlighting their crucial role. Your support and collaboration are greatly appreciated.”
He said: “My mother tells me every morning that I’m a hero, but for me the only satisfaction is that Madame Pelicot’s Calvary has come to an end, and that I may have helped to stop it.”
Meanwhile, sordid Pélicot is now being investigated for the murder of an estate agent in Paris in 1991 as well as a 1999 attempted rape, the Guardian reports. Police in the suburb of Nanterre outside the French capital have reportedly reopened two cold cases, placing Pélicot under formal investigation.
If you’ve been the victim of sexual assault, you can access help and resources via www.rapecrisis.org.uk or by calling the national telephone helpline on 0808 802 9999
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