For 10 years, Dominique Pélicot allegedly drugged his wife, Gisele, with sleeping pills and recruited men to rape her. Gisele, now 72, will testify on September 5 in a mass trial against 51 of her alleged abusers. The trial, made public at Gisele’s insistence, aims to reveal the full extent of the abuse, according to Agence France-Presse (AFP). Dominique has pleaded guilty.
Background
The abuse began in 2011 when Gisele was 59 and continued until 2020. AFP reported that Dominique, a pensioner, recruited men online and drugged his wife with powerful tranquilisers, particularly Temesta, an anxiety medication. The assaults occurred at the couple’s home in France, where Dominique participated in the rapes, filmed them, and encouraged the men with degrading language. While most men participated only once, some did so up to six times. No money was exchanged.
The trial
Dominique’s crimes were discovered by chance when he was caught filming up women’s skirts at a supermarket. French police found a hard drive with a folder labelled “abuse,” containing hundreds of pictures and videos of Gisele, unconscious and mostly in a foetal position. They identified 92 rapes committed by 72 men, with 51 men, aged between 26 and 74, facing trial.
During the first two days of the trial, lawyers questioned whether the couple had a libertine relationship or if it was credible that Gisele had been unaware of the abuse for a decade. The Guardian reported that the judge revealed naked photomontages of their daughter found on Dominique’s computer, causing the daughter to collapse in tears and leave the courtroom with her two brothers. Gisele remained stoic throughout.
Investigators also found footage of Gisele’s abuse shared on a controversial website, where Dominique claimed the drugging allowed him to engage in practices she would normally refuse. After his initial arrest, Dominique said he had “acted on impulses” he could not control.
An awful ordeal
Antoine Camus, one of Gisele’s lawyers, described the trial as “a totally awful ordeal” for the 72-year-old woman. “For the first time, she will experience the rapes to which she was subjected for 10 years,” of which she has “no memory,” he told AFP. If convicted, most of the alleged abusers face up to 20 years in jail for aggravated rape.
Dominique may face multiple trials. He is also charged with a 1991 murder and rape, which he denied, and an attempted rape in 1999, which he admitted. Experts suggest Dominique does not appear to be mentally ill, but he claimed he was raped by a male nurse at age nine and seemed to have a need to feel “all powerful” over the female body, AFP reported. His lawyer stated that Dominique is ready to face “his family and his wife.”
Further implications
This case has shocked France and raised questions about the extent of abuse that can go unnoticed for years. It also highlights the importance of vigilance and the need for better mechanisms to detect and prevent such heinous crimes. The trial’s outcome could set a precedent for how similar cases are handled in the future, potentially leading to stricter laws and more robust support systems for victims of abuse.
