AVIGNON, France (AP) — A woman who was allegedly drugged by her now ex-husband so that she could be raped while unconscious by other men testified Thursday that her world collapsed when police uncovered the years of alleged abuse.
“I have so much to say that I don’t always know where to start.” Dominique Pélicot, now 71, and 50 other men are standing trial on charges of aggravated rape and face up to 20 years in prison.
Thursday marked the first time that Gisèle Pélicot had testified.
She told the court that she hopes her testimony might help spare other women from similar ordeals.
She said she pushed for the trial in open court in solidarity with other women who go unrecognized as victims of sexual crimes.
But a security agent caught her husband taking photos of women’s crotches in a supermarket, leading investigators to search Dominique Pélicot’s phone and computer.
They found thousands of photographs and videos of men appearing to rape Gisèle in their home while she appears to be unconscious.
I don’t know if I’ll ever rebuild myself.” Police investigators found communications Dominique Pélicot allegedly sent on a messaging website commonly used by criminals, in which he invited men to sexually abuse his wife.
They sometimes had to wait up to an hour and a half on a nearby parking lot for the drug to take full effect and render Gisèle Pélicot unconscious.
Besides Pélicot, 50 other men, aged 22 to 70, are standing trial.
AVIGNON, France (AP) – On Thursday, the woman who testified that she was drugged by her now-ex-husband and then raped while unconscious by other men, said that her world fell apart when the police discovered the years of alleged brutality.
Speaking calmly and clearly, Gisèle Pélicot described to the court in the southern French city of Avignon the horrifying experience she had upon learning that her ex-husband had methodically recorded the alleged rapes by dozens of men, storing thousands of photos that were subsequently discovered by police investigators.
“It’s intolerable,” she stated in court. “I often don’t know where to begin because I have so much to say. “.
Faced with a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison, Dominique Pélicot, now 71, and fifty other men are on trial for aggravated rape. It is anticipated that the trial will last until December, having begun on Monday. Gisèle Pélicot testified for the first time on Thursday.
In most cases, the victims of sexual offenses are not identified by the Associated Press. But according to Stéphane Babonneau, Gisèle Pélicot’s attorney, she agreed to have her name published in the same manner that she insisted on a public trial.
She expressed to the court her hope that her testimony would help save other women from going through similar experiences. She claimed that in support of other women who go unacknowledged as victims of sexual crimes, she pushed for the trial to take place in public.
She had three children with her 50-year spouse. Prior to her world being destroyed in late 2020, the couple moved into a home in a small Provence town after they retired.
She told the judge, “I thought we were a close couple.”.
However, Dominique Pélicot’s phone and computer were searched by investigators after a security guard discovered her husband photographing women’s crotches in a supermarket. Thousands of images and videos showing men allegedly raping Gisèle in their house while she appears to be unconscious were discovered.
After viewing some of the images with shock, she decided to divorce her husband.
“Everything falls apart for me,” she said in court. “Rape and barbaric scenes these are.”. “.
All that remained for her after 50 years of marriage was two suitcases, which she took with her. She said, “I no longer have an identity since then. dot. If I ever rebuild myself, I don’t know. “.
Police investigators discovered messages that Dominique Pélicot allegedly sent on a chat platform frequented by criminals, inviting men to molest his wife. The webpage has been taken down.
During the trial, basic information about the complex system Pélicot implemented over a ten-year period, as well as the alleged abuses that started in 2011, according to investigators, came to light.
Men who were invited to the couple’s house had to abide by certain rules, Dominique Pélicot informed investigators during earlier questioning. These rules included not talking loudly, taking off their clothes in the kitchen, and not wearing perfume or emitting tobacco odors.
Sometimes, they had to wait for up to an hour and a half in a nearby parking lot before Gisèle Pélicot was completely unconscious from the drug’s effects.
“I was sacrificed on the altar of vice,” she said in her deposition. They treated me as though I were a rag doll or a garbage bag. “.
Most of the 72 suspects that police were looking for were found over the course of two years thanks to Dominique Pélicot’s videotaped account of the alleged rapes.
Fifty other men, ranging in age from 22 to 70, are on trial in addition to Pélicot. A number of the accused are contesting certain charges against them, claiming Pélicot was manipulating them.
The defendants will appear in small groups before a panel of five judges over the course of the next few months. Pélicot is expected to testify next week. Experts in computers, psychiatry, and psychology will also provide testimony.
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