Gisele Pelicot, left, arrives at the Avignon courthouse, in Avignon, southern France, Thursday, Sept. 5, 2024.
Lewis Jolly / AP
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Lewis Jolly / AP
EVOGENE, France – A man accused of drugging his then-wife and inviting dozens of men to rape her over nearly a decade, a case in southern France on Tuesday. I am testifying in court, which has shaken the country.
Dominique Pellicote, now 71, faces up to 20 years in prison if convicted. While he has previously confessed to investigators, the court testimony will be crucial for a panel of judges to decide the fate of nearly 50 other men on trial with him, accused of raping Giselle Pellicote. is accused of
Many also hope that her testimony will shed some light – to try to understand the unimaginable.
Gisèle Pélicot has become a symbol of the fight against sexual violence in France because she agreed to remain anonymous in the trial, allowed the trial to be public, and appeared openly in front of the media. She is expected to speak in court on Tuesday after her ex-husband's testimony.
Under French law, proceedings inside the courtroom cannot be filmed or photographed. Dominique Pélicot is brought into court through a special door accessible to the media, as he and some other defendants are held in custody pending trial. Defendants who are not in custody appear in court wearing surgical masks or hoods to avoid having their faces filmed or photographed.
Bernadette Tessnier, a 69-year-old retiree who lives half an hour from Avignon, where the trial is being held, arrived outside the court at 7:15 a.m. to make sure she got a closer look. Will get seat in case of going.
“How is it possible that in 50 years of communal life, someone can live with someone who hides his life so well? It's scary,” she said as she stood in line outside the courthouse. “I don't have much hope that what he did can be explained, but he's at least going to give some elements.”
Pellicote's testimony was delayed several days after he became ill, suffering from kidney stones and a urinary infection, his lawyers said.
According to court documents, a security agent caught Pellicott in 2020 making videos up women's skirts at a supermarket. Police searched Pellicott's home and electronic equipment, and found thousands of photos and videos of men engaging in sexual acts with Giselle Pellicott while she appeared to be unconscious in her bed.
With the recordings, police were able to track down the majority of the 72 suspects they were looking for.
Gisèle Pélicot and her husband of 50 years had three children. When they retired, the couple left the Paris area to live in a house in Mazan, a small town in Provence.
When police officers called her in for questioning in late 2020, she initially told them her husband was “a great man,” according to legal documents. Then they showed him some pictures. She left her husband and now they are divorced.
In addition to Pélicot, 50 other men, aged 26 to 74, are on trial. Many people deny having raped Gisèle Pélicot, saying they were manipulated by her ex-husband or claiming they were consensual.