Rapist testifies

‘Unbearable’: Pelicot leaves the courtroom

What was done to her is almost unbearable. Nevertheless, Gisèle Pelicot is making her unbelievable case of abuse public.

(Bild: APA/AFP/Christophe SIMON)

 The unbelievable abuse trial surrounding the French woman Gisèle Pelicot was now unbearable for the victim for the first time. During the questioning of one of the rapists on Monday, the usually so strong 72-year-old had to leave the courtroom for the first time.

 The alleged accomplice, carpenter Vincenc C., lived only five minutes away from Pelicot and is said to have raped the woman twice. Before the judge in Avignon, he now confessed to having sexual intercourse with the victim, but showed little remorse.

He claimed not to have known that it was a rape and allegedly did not notice that the woman was unconscious. The fact that she was motionless and snoring did not seem to worry him.

Thought of a kind of "sex game"
 He initially had no interest in sex, but felt invited by the couple to a kind of "sex game", the BFM TV channel quotes him as saying. Three months after the first rape, C. is said to have contacted Dominique Pelicot again. He claimed that his wife had enjoyed the abuse: "I pointed out to him that I had been here before and found it strange. He said to me: 'No, we watched the video and she liked it'."

The case shocked the whole of France. In court, the woman endures the descriptions and recordings of what was done to her.

(Bild: APA/AFP/Benoit PEYRUCQ)

"Little choice" for sex dates
He had "little choice" when it came to sex dates, he complained in court on Monday - and continued: "The internet forum (on which the husband advertised his wife; note) is not a supermarket after all." When Vincent C. was later shown the video recordings of his crime, he is said to have averted his eyes from the display. 

Not only did the attempt to play down the abuse, but also to indirectly compare the woman to a supermarket product, finally became too much for the victim: "I can't stand this man," she declared and left the room, according to the BBC.

Only coincidence convicted the husband
Gisèle Pelicot had been appearing in court every day for over a month to hear what she had had to endure for years. At her husband's invitation, a total of 51 men are said to have assaulted her - her husband had apparently sedated her for this purpose. The rapes only came to light by chance in 2020.

Dominique Pelicot was caught by a security guard in a supermarket secretly filming women under their skirts with a cell phone. The rape videos were eventually discovered. 51 perpetrators have already been identified and charged. They face up to 20 years in prison.

Pelicot: "Shame must change sides"
The court actually wanted to hold the trial in camera. However, Pelicot decided to go public with her fate: "Shame must change sides", she emphasized - and also decided that the images of the crimes should be available for all to see during the trial. The verdict is expected to be announced in mid-December.