The trial of a Frenchman who recruited dozens of strangers to rape his drugged wife at their home is set to resume on Monday, with eight new defendants facing examination in court. Dominique Pelicot, 71, and 50 other co-defendants aged between 26 to 74 years old have caused outrage and sparked protests since the trial opened on September 2 in Avignon.
Gisele Pelicot, the ex-wife of Dominique, has refused to be ashamed and demanded that the trial be open to the public. Her bravery has made her a feminist heroine in France and beyond. The court has already questioned 36 defendants, including Pelicot himself, and will now move on to examining eight more co-accused after a week-long break.
Antoine Camus, one of Gisele Pelicot’s lawyers, mentioned that the international attention has given his client the strength to continue fighting for justice. The case came to light when Dominique Pelicot was arrested in 2020 for filming up women’s skirts in a local supermarket. He admitted to raping his then-wife and enlisting others to join him between 2011 and 2020, documenting the abuse in thousands of images found on his hard drives.
Most of the co-accused claim they were unaware that they were participating in rape and believed they were part of a consensual sex game with a libertine couple. The excuses provided by the accused have been exhausting for Gisele Pelicot to hear repeatedly.
The upcoming defendants include a truck driver, a labourer, a cleaner, a restaurant manager, a software technician planning similar acts on his wife, an HIV-positive man who did not use protection, and a man being tried in absentia. One defendant is accused of raping Gisele Pelicot in 2019 with the complicity of her then-husband at their daughter’s home.
The couple’s daughter, Caroline Darian, has been a vocal supporter of her mother throughout the trial. Darian, who wrote a book about her experiences, has campaigned for awareness about drug-facilitated sexual abuse. She revealed on Instagram that she had checked into a clinic to take a break from the trial. Darian shared her own traumatic experience of being drugged by her father and being a victim of sexual abuse.
The trial is expected to continue until December 20, shedding light on the horrific crimes committed by Dominique Pelicot and his accomplices. Gisele Pelicot’s courage and determination to seek justice have garnered support from around the world, making her a symbol of resilience in the face of adversity.
