The Accused Frenchman: "I am a Rapist"

In his testimony, the 71-year-old admits to being a rapist.

I am a rapist like the others in this room. Everyone knew, no one can say otherwise, says Dominique Pélicot in court in Avignon.

Pélicot also asks for forgiveness.

The trial against Dominique Pélicot and 50 other men suspected of assaulting 72-year-old Gisèle Pélicot began on September 2 and is expected to last for four months. Several of the defendants risk 20 years in prison for aggravated rape.

Like a "rag doll"

Pélicot himself has largely confessed to the crimes, but the motive behind his unimaginable actions is partly unclear.

In the evidence presented, there are thousands of images and films showing how over 70 different men rape her – assaults that took place over a ten-year period. The defendants are between 25 and 75 years old – including a former police officer, a local politician, and a journalist.

The case has stirred strong emotions in France. Since the trial began, women dressed in black have demonstrated against violence against women outside the court in Avignon.

The trial is open to the public at the request of Gisèle Pélicot, who has also agreed to have her name and image published. She testified herself on one of the first days of the trial and described how her world collapsed in 2020, when she realized she had been drugged and the police showed her pictures of what had happened.

They treated me like a rag doll, said Gisèle Pélicot.

Strict rules

In the images, she lay motionless on a bed in the couple's home in Mazan while different men assaulted her. The men had been invited via a website and followed strict rules: they were not allowed to speak loudly, not wear perfume or smell of tobacco, and had to take off their clothes in the kitchen.

Some of them had to wait on a parking lot while the drugs given by her husband took effect. The couple had been married for 50 years and have three children.

Gisèle Pélicot packed two bags and left her husband as soon as she realized what had happened. Since then, she has felt identity-less, she told the court.