Wives shocked as 50 men go on trial over mass rape in France

Avignon:

The wives and girlfriends of dozens of men on trial in France for raping another woman while her husband drugged her have reacted with anger and disbelief, although some say they will support the accused.

In a court case that shocked France, Dominique Pelicault, 71, admitted drugging his then-wife Gisele with sedatives so strangers could rape her in her own bed for nearly a decade until 2020.

Another 50 men, aged between 26 and 74, are also on trial in the southern city of Avignon, accused of responding to his proposal to rape her.

Some, including Pelicot, are in custody, one is being tried in absentia, but 32 defendants are present at the trial as free people.

Among the women who gave evidence at the trial, Vanessa P said she no longer had any respect for her former partner Quentin H, 34, who was a prison guard when he allegedly abused Giselle Pelicot.

“When you see what he is accused of, you start to doubt everything,” said the kindergarten worker, accusing him of “manipulation.”

Emily O, 33, similarly described her ex-partner Hughes M, a 39-year-old man charged with “attempted rape” in court.

“I thought I was living a peaceful and fulfilling life, but I was wrong,” she said, adding that she would always be afraid that she too would be raped.

Emily O. split from her partner in 2020 when police uncovered years of abuse against Giselle Pelicot and discovered that Hugues M. had been having multiple affairs.

“He was always respectful”

Gisele Pelicot, now 71, has become a feminist icon at home and abroad since the trial began in September, refusing to be ashamed and demanding that the trial be open to the public.

Like her, Celia M. was also drugged and raped.

Her husband, Jean-Pierre M., 63, is the only defendant in the case who is not accused of abusing Giselle Pélicot.

Instead, he and Dominic Pelico were charged with repeatedly drugging and sexually assaulting Celia M. between 2015 and 2018 using the same method.

“He was wonderful, but he destroyed us,” said the mother of his five children, one of whom is disabled.

Celia M has told a court she will “never forgive” her husband, who claimed his own father sexually abused him as a child.

She has since broken up with him but has not pressed charges to “protect” her children.

Corinne M had already separated from her husband, former builder Thierry P, 54, when the Pelicot affair came to light after the death of their son in a road accident led him to alcoholism.

She was confused by his behavior.

When it came to sex, “he was always respectful. When it was no, it was no… I really don’t understand why he’s here today,” she said in court.

Véronique Le Goaziu, a sociologist specializing in sexual violence, told AFP that the accused’s partners were usually “stunned”.

She said they often had difficulty imagining the alleged violence because it was “beyond their understanding.”

“In some cases… they just can’t or won’t believe it.”

“It’s not him”

Samira T. said she was still trying to understand why her partner Jerome V. raped Giselle Pelicot six times at her home in the southern city of Mazan in 2020.

But she will be there to “support” him.

“If we met, it’s not a coincidence,” she said. “I was given this mission.”

Jerome W., a 46-year-old former convenience store employee who claims to have slept with 89 people, told the court he couldn’t control his sexuality.

Samira T said she sought to satisfy his high libido by complying with his requests for sex almost every day “at 10pm” and agreeing to be photographed naked or walked around in the nude.

“He had no reason to look elsewhere,” she said, crying.

Another woman, Hien B., blamed herself.

While she was caring for her sick mother, she constantly brushed off Jean-Luc L. when he wanted sex.

“I think as a man he decided to do something different,” she said.

Among the partners of the accused in Avignon, Sonya R. has been dating Patrice N. for a little over a year.

She said she wants to look forward to the future.

“I support him and trust him with all my heart,” she said.

Lucy B. also supported Gregory S., her partner of seven years. She is pregnant with her third child.

“I don’t think he’s a rapist. It’s not him,” she said.

After they met in 2017, she said, he told her about visiting Pelicot’s home earlier that year.

“He told me it was a husband and his wife having fun, that she was drunk,” she added.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)