Warning: this text comprises descriptions of alleged rape and sexual assault
A complete of 51 males are on trial over their alleged assaults on Gisèle Pelicot, recruited by her then-husband Dominique Pelicot, who has admitted drugging and raping her.
The 50 males accused of rape and assault alongside Dominique Pelicot are aged between 26 and 74. They embrace a nurse, a journalist, a jail warden, an area councillor, a soldier, lorry drivers and farm staff. They every withstand 20 years in jail.
In complete, 49 are accused of rape, certainly one of tried rape and certainly one of sexual assault. 5 others are additionally accused of possessing youngster abuse imagery.
Most lived in south-eastern France inside a 60km radius of the village of Mazan, the place the Pelicots lived. Six have earlier convictions for home violence, two have convictions for sexual violence. A complete of 23 have a felony file for offences similar to drunk-driving and possession of medication.
Among the accused males have admitted rape however stated they didn’t set out with this intention, and have apologised in court docket to Gisèle Pelicot, 72, a grandmother and former logistics supervisor. Others have denied the cost of rape, saying they believed they had been participating in a sport by the couple.
Gisèle Pelicot was unknowingly sedated and raped by her former husband, Dominique Pelicot, 71, who crushed sleeping tablets and anti-anxiety medicine into her meals and drinks and invited males to rape her over a nine-year interval from 2011 to 2020.
Pelicot has admitted the fees in opposition to him and stated that for nearly a decade he was involved with males on a web-based chatroom titled “with out her data” the place he would organise for strangers to return to the couple’s residence
“I’m a rapist, just like the others on this room,” Pelicot advised the court docket.
The case is being heard by a panel of 5 skilled judges within the southern metropolis of Avignon and runs till December. Gisèle Pelicot has waived her proper to anonymity to ensure that the trial to be held in public, saying: “Disgrace should change sides.”
As the lads seem in court docket over the course of the four-month trial, the Guardian will element their profiles and testimony.
Cyrille D, 54
Educated as a butcher, Cyrille D is accused of raping Gisèle Pelicot in her residence in September 2019. Cyrille D’s companion, the mom of his kids, was on vacation on the time. He stated he was sexually pissed off in his relationship and had gone on to the net chatroom to console himself.
In court docket, Cyrille D admitted rape, saying he had realised later that he had not gained Gisèle Pelicot’s consent, solely her husband’s. He stated Gisèle Pelicot was clearly unconscious however that her husband had been “insistent”. He stated: “I’m sorry, I used to be naive, a bit of silly, an fool.” He advised the court docket that whereas in jail on remand he had understood that “ladies don’t belong to males”.
Gisèle Pelicot’s lawyer stated video proof had confirmed that the alleged rape by Cyrille D had put her life in peril as she had risked not having the ability to breathe.
Cyrille D detailed a violent childhood by the hands of his alcoholic father, who he stated would wait outdoors faculty with a meat cleaver to assault him and threaten him. “My father was Hitler,” he advised the court docket. After a brutal public beating by his father outdoors faculty, Cyrille D was positioned in care as a youngster.
Lionel R, 44
A employee on the Pelicots’ native grocery store in Carpentras, Lionel R was a married father of three when he made contact with Dominique Pelicot. In court docket, Lionel R admitted raping Gisèle Pelicot on 2 December 2018 at her residence, however he stated he had not supposed to commit rape.
“Since I by no means obtained Mrs Pelicot’s consent, I’ve no selection however to simply accept the info,” he advised the court docket. Turning to Gisèle Pelicot, he stated: “I’m sorry, I can solely think about the nightmare you’ve lived by means of … and I’m a part of this nightmare.” He stated: “I by no means advised myself: ‘I’ll rape that girl” however he admitted: “I’m responsible of rape.” He added that he ought to have left when he noticed she was unconscious, and that it was cowardly of him to not have stated something.
The court docket heard that Dominique Pelicot had beforehand introduced an unsuspecting Gisèle Pelicot buying on the grocery store in order that Lionel R may see if he was interested in her.
Lionel R advised the court docket he had been sexually abused on the age of 12 to 13 by the president of the pétanque membership in his village.
Jacques C, 72
A former hearth officer who had labored as a truck driver after which owned a pizzeria, Jacques C had been married for 25 years and had two kids.
He advised the court docket he denied rape. He stated he had been “naive” and he thought that Gisèle Pelicot would get up and it was a sport by the couple.
Jacques C admitted touching Pelicot, however stated there had been no penetration and due to this fact no rape.
Jacques C advised the court docket he thought of that his non secular training had made him a “giving particular person” who did good and revered ladies. He stated he cherished ladies “in all their complexity”.
Jean-Pierre M, 63
A former lorry driver for an agricultural cooperative in southern France, Jean-Pierre M just isn’t accused of raping Gisèle Pelicot. As a substitute, he’s accused of utilizing the identical approach to drug and rape his personal spouse, and organising for Pelicot to rape her with him.
Described in court docket as a “disciple” of Pelicot, he admitted sedating his spouse, with whom he had 5 kids, and enlisting Pelicot to rape her.
The 2 males made contact within the on-line chatroom known as “with out her data”. Pelicot is alleged to have supplied sedatives to drug the person’s spouse, defined the tactic and travelled to rape the girl himself.
Twelve rapes of Jean-Pierre’s spouse are alleged to have taken place between 2015 and 2020. Jean-Pierre advised the court docket that he admitted the fees.
Pelicot admitted raping Jean-Pierre’s spouse on a number of events and stated he regretted his actions. He stated he had minimize contact with the couple after Jean-Pierre’s spouse wakened throughout one of many assaults whereas he was in her bed room.
The court docket heard how Jean-Pierre’s childhood within the French countryside was marked by excessive poverty, excessive violence and he was the sufferer of sexual abuse inside his household. “I used to be raised by pigs within the woods,” he had advised his kids.
Joan Okay, 26
A soldier within the French army, Joan Okay is the youngest man on trial. He was 22 on the time of his alleged raping of Gisèle Pelicot on two separate visits to her residence in 2019 and 2020.
He advised the court docket: “I’m a rapist as a result of the regulation says I’m” – however he stated he had not supposed to rape and “on the time I didn’t know what consent was”.
He stated he had been invited to the couple’s residence by Dominique Pelicot for an encounter and had not requested for Gisèle Pelicot’s consent, saying he realized solely in jail what consent was.
He stated he had discovered it unusual that Gisèle Pelicot was loud night breathing, and that he knew she was unconscious however he had not recognized that meant she had not consented.
In November 2019, Joan Okay was absent for the untimely delivery of his daughter on the night time he was accused of raping Gisèle Pelicot for the primary time.
Born in French Guiana, he joined his brother in Avignon when he was 16 earlier than enlisting within the military. The court docket heard he had lived on the streets as a youngster and three of his brothers had died. He misplaced his military job when he was arrested. He was described by a psychologist as a power consumer of alcohol and hashish, “depressive, impulsive and solitary”.
Hugues M, 39
A tiler, bike fanatic and father of two, Hugues M is accused of the tried rape of Gisèle Pelicot just a few days earlier than his then girlfriend’s birthday in October 2019. He denies the cost. He stated he didn’t know Gisèle Pelicot was drugged and had not checked out her face, simply her physique.
His ex-partner Emilie O, 33, who met him on-line and lived with him for 5 years, advised the court docket she feared she might have been drugged and sexually assaulted by him herself. “I don’t know if I used to be raped,” she stated. “It’s horrible. I’ll at all times have doubts.”
She advised the court docket that one night time in 2019 she had woken as much as discover her companion trying to assault her. She launched a police criticism, but it surely was dismissed for “lack of fabric proof”. She advised the court docket she had skilled “dizziness” between September 2019 and March 2020, however investigators didn’t detect any substances which may have affected her on the time.
Husamettin D, 43
A married father who had given up part-time work to take care of his disabled son, Husamettin D is accused of raping Gisèle Pelicot in June 2019. He denied the cost in court docket saying: “I don’t settle for being known as a rapist, I’m not a rapist.”
The court docket heard that Husamettin D had made contact with Dominique Pelicot within the chatroom and had gone to the Pelicots’ residence the identical night time, telling his personal spouse he was going out.
Pelicot had advised him he was searching for an “Arab” man for his spouse – Husamettin, born in Turkey, used the net pseudonym “Karim”.
He admitted that Gisèle Pelicot “appeared lifeless”, together with her leg dangling oddly, however he stated he had thought it was a situation or sport and that she was pretending.
He stated Dominique Pelicot had stated his spouse was in settlement. He stated he had not recognized she was drugged.
The court docket heard that Husamettin D had turn out to be hooked on hashish from the age of 11, and had lived in kids’s properties. In 2000, he was convicted for dealing medicine.
Fabien S, 39
A person with 16 earlier convictions starting from armed theft and drug dealing to home violence and sexual assault of a minor, Fabien S stated he admitted the cost of raping Gisèle Pelicot in August 2018. However he stated he had not gone to the Pelicots’ residence with the intention of raping her.
“I didn’t go there to rape her. I didn’t know I used to be alleged to rape her, however I recognise the info,” he stated, including he had “not paid consideration” as to if or not she had consented.
He stated he wasn’t fascinated by a situation the place a girl was unconscious as a result of he appreciated to listen to ladies scream. He apologised to Gisèle Pelicot in court docket.
The court docket heard that Fabien S allegedly raped Gisèle Pelicot in her eating room. Requested how this was potential, Dominique Pelicot stated he had put medicine in her meal and carried her unconscious to the eating room desk.
The court docket heard that Fabien S had been sexually abused by his father from the age of two, then positioned in several foster households the place he confronted additional violence and sexual abuse, and that he was admitted to psychiatric care on the age of 16. From 18 to twenty-eight he lived on the streets in Toulon as an alcoholic.
Mathieu D, 53
The daddy of two had labored as baker for 25 years earlier than having to depart his job due to an intolerance to wheat.
He’s accused of raping Gisèle Pelicot with Dominique Pelicot on 3 October 2020. He admitted the info, saying he was excessive on the drug MDMA on the time and thought it was a sport with a married couple.
Mathieu D accepted later that Gisèle Pelicot had not been in a match state to consent. “I can’t deny it was rape,” he stated.
The court docket heard that Mathieu D’s stepfather had been violent. Mathieu D advised investigators he was impressed by Buddhism and “the steadiness of karmas”.
Andy R, 37
An unemployed agricultural labourer and married father of two, Andy R has two home violence convictions and is accused of raping Gisèle Pelicot at her residence on New Yr’s Eve 2018.
He stated he didn’t intend to rape Gisèle Pelicot, telling the court docket: “Because the husband had given me permission, in my thoughts she agreed to it.”
Andy R arrived on the Pelicots’ residence an hour after first making contact on-line with Dominique Pelicot on New Yr’s Eve. He stated he had “nothing else to do” that night time as a result of his brothers hadn’t invited him to their New Yr’s Eve social gathering. He stated he had thought it was a sexual “sport” between the Pelicots.
The court docket heard he had been hooked on alcohol since he was 13 or 14, and was a daily consumer of cocaine.
Simone M, 42
A builder, former soldier and father of 5, Simone M lived on the following road to the Pelicots within the village of Mazan. He’s the one alleged rapist whom Gisèle Pelicot recognised when she was proven video proof by police.
She advised the court docket he had come into their lounge as soon as to debate biking together with her husband. “I noticed him at times within the bakery; I might say good day. I by no means thought he’d come and rape me,” she stated.
The previous mountain infantryman made contact with Dominique Pelicot within the on-line chatroom earlier than realising they lived lower than 200 metres aside. Simone M lived reverse the tennis membership the place Dominique Pelicot performed. “Issues had been going badly with my ex-wife, I used to be searching for love, an encounter to calm myself,” Simone M advised the court docket.
Dominique Pelicot recommended Simone M first come to the home through the day “to see how lovely my spouse is”, including: “If she asks, say you’ve come to debate my bike.”
Simone M is accused of raping Gisèle Pelicot on the night time of 14 November 2018. He denies rape. He stated he thought Gisèle Pelicot was solely pretending to be asleep and would get up. “I’m not a rapist,” he advised the court docket.
His ex-wife advised the court docket he had as soon as threatened her with an axe.
Simone M is from New Caledonia, the place he grew up. As a youngster he was abused and raped by a person his mother and father had despatched him to reside with as a labourer. The court docket heard he had a posh about his penis dimension and wanted fixed reassurance. He had money owed and intervals of alcoholism.
He has a 15-month-old daughter together with his present companion, who advised the court docket she stands by him.
Thierry Po, 61
A refrigeration specialist and father of three from Bouches-du-Rhône in southern France, Thierry Po can be charged with possession of tons of of kid abuse pictures discovered on a USB stick after his arrest for the alleged rape of Gisèle Pelicot. He admits these expenses however denies raping Gisèle Pelicot on 21 August 2020.
He stated hadn’t seen something irregular concerning the night time he went to the Pelicots’ residence, believing he was assembly a pair. “I at all times thought Mrs Pelicot would get up,” he stated. “She wasn’t chilly, she wasn’t lifeless, her pores and skin was mushy.”
He stated he had not sought Gisèle Pelicot’s consent as a result of he had a lot of expertise of encounters with {couples} when it was largely the person who gave consent for the girl. He stated he had had three “main” earlier experiences the place a husband had invited him to have intercourse with a spouse and “she’ll be asleep, she doesn’t wish to know, we’ll movie it”. In a single case, the girl had woken up. In two circumstances, he had left with out seeing the ladies’s faces. He stated he couldn’t inform if these ladies had been asleep or not.
He advised the court docket: “After I depart jail, I’d wish to create an affiliation to get males like me to grasp that consent is necessary. I’d go to swingers’ golf equipment and say: “Don’t neglect to get consent!”
Jérôme V, 46
The previous grocery retailer employee and father of three is without doubt one of the few accused males who admit the fees of raping Gisèle Pelicot with the data that she was drugged. He advised the skilled psychiatrist within the case that he was conscious she had not consented.
He allegedly went to the Pelicots’ residence six instances between March and June 2020 to rape her through the first Covid lockdown in France. A volunteer within the hearth service, he lived half-hour’ drive away.
He advised the court docket: “I didn’t preserve going again as a result of rape mode was my factor, however as a result of I couldn’t management my sexuality.” He stated he was at first attracted by the concept of getting an inert physique at his disposal and being free to behave nonetheless he needed.
He stated his life was outlined by sexual urges, and he was recurrently untrue to companions as a result of they “couldn’t meet my calls for” and he tried excessive practices to interrupt the “monotony”. He stated he paid “much less and fewer” consideration to his companions.
Jérôme V stated he was hooked on intercourse and that Pelicot took benefit of that. In court docket, wanting over at Gisèle Pelicot, he stated he was ashamed “to have performed unhealthy to somebody who appears so pure”. At his residence, an inventory of 89 names of sexual companions had been discovered. “I wanted to depend my conquests,” he stated.
His present companion advised the court docket she stood by him and visited him recurrently in jail.
He stated he was by no means supported or protected by his mother and father. He was bullied at college and as soon as forcibly stripped in public by different pupils at highschool.
Thierry Pa, 54
A former builder who turned to alcohol when his 18-year-old son died in a street collision, Thierry Pa was an inpatient on a psychiatric ward after affected by melancholy when investigators recognized him as allegedly raping Gisèle Pelicot a number of months earlier in 2020.
He had separated from his spouse just a few weeks earlier than his alleged rape of Gisèle Pelicot in July 2020 and had left his household residence, saying he was unable to bear the images and recollections of his son.
He stated he had contacted Dominique Pelicot on-line for an encounter with a pair. He denied rape, saying: “I didn’t set out from my home saying: ‘I’m going to rape somebody.’” He stated: “I don’t perceive how she didn’t really feel something, didn’t realise.” He stated he thought Pelicot might have drugged him, and that he was manipulated and brainwashed by Pelicot.
His ex-wife advised the court docket the alleged rape was out of character. She stated she want to get again along with him.
The court docket heard that Thierry Pa’s mom was an alcoholic and his father was typically absent.
Adrien L, 34
Adrien L, a former constructing website supervisor from Carpentras, was convicted final 12 months of the rapes of three former companions in a special trial and is serving a 14-year jail sentence.
He denied raping Gisèle Pelicot in March 2014. He stated he had thought he was participating in a sport and didn’t suppose she was drugged.
Aged 23 on the time of the alleged rape of Gisèle Pelicot, he is without doubt one of the youngest males on trial. He was educated at non-public faculty earlier than becoming a member of his father’s profitable constructing enterprise, and was described as coming from a higher-income background than lots of the different males accused.
He advised the court docket that when he was 21 he found after a paternity take a look at that he was not the organic father of the three-year-old woman he was elevating together with his girlfriend. He stated from that time onwards, “I had a hatred in direction of ladies”.
The night time he was alleged to have raped Gisèle Pelicot, his new girlfriend was 9 months pregnant and gave delivery 10 days later. He admitted to court docket specialists that he had mistreated his pregnant girlfriend and known as her a whore.
The court docket heard that he was sexually abused by a cousin when he was 10.
Jean T, 52
A former roofer born on the French Indian Ocean island of Réunion, Jean T was in a nine-year relationship when he drove two-and-a-half hours from Lyon to allegedly rape Gisèle Pelicot in her mattress on the night time of 21 September 2018.
He had made contact with Dominique Pelicot within the chatroom, the place he used the identify “Invoice”.
He advised the court docket: “I’m not a rapist”. He stated he thought Dominique Pelicot had drugged him. “I don’t keep in mind something,” he stated.
In court docket, he recalled many particulars of the night, together with the home, the principles of undressing within the kitchen and seeing Gisèle Pelicot on the mattress. However he advised the court docket he had no reminiscence of the particular second of his alleged rape of Pelicot, and recalled solely entering into his automobile afterwards when he drove residence.
Judges noticed that he had not appeared drugged in seven movies, during which he was energetic and gave a thumbs-up signal. He was requested why, if he feared he had been drugged, he didn’t report this to police. He stated on the time he had thought: “It was a nasty encounter, neglect about it.”
The court docket heard he had recurrently sought encounters with {couples} for greater than a decade and had paid intercourse staff however “it felt soiled”.
Redouan E, 55
A former anaesthesia nurse in hospital working theatres in Morocco, Redouan E lived in Avignon, the place he labored as a neighborhood nurse.
He was married for the second time and within the means of adopting a younger woman from Morocco. He was upset that the adoption course of was stopped after he was arrested for allegedly raping Gisèle Pelicot at her residence on a Saturday night time in June 2019.
Redouan E advised the court docket: “I plead not responsible.” He denied rape, saying he was the “sufferer of a trick” and had been too “terrified” of Dominique Pelicot to say no. Confronted with video proof of a number of alleged rapes of Gisèle Pelicot, he stated: “I used to be terrified, however you possibly can’t see it.” He stated he didn’t depart as a result of he feared that will destroy Pelicot’s Saturday night time.
He stated he had not recognized Gisèle Pelicot was sedated. Requested in court docket, how, as a skilled aneasthesia nurse, he had not seen that Gisèle Pelicot was unconscious, he stated he thought she was pretending to be lifeless “however by no means that she’d been drugged”, and he believed he noticed her transfer.
Patrick A, 60
A former manufacturing facility employee and video-club proprietor from the Alpes-de-Haute-Provence, Patrick A admitted the cost of raping Gisèle Pelicot however stated he had taken half reluctantly as a result of he was homosexual and had needed an encounter with Dominique Pelicot, not his spouse.
Patrick A met Dominique Pelicot within the on-line chatroom they usually messaged on Skype, the place Pelicot advised him Gisèle Pelicot was a “prudish bitch who didn’t need threesomes” and stated: “I’m searching for a pervert confederate to abuse my spouse, she takes sleeping capsules and I take benefit.” Patrick A had replied: “OK.”
He advised the court docket he had needed a lot to have a homosexual encounter with Dominique Pelicot that he was blinded by it and brainwashed. He stated he raped Gisèle Pelicot “reluctantly” to “please” Dominique Pelicot. He questioned whether or not he might have been drugged.
“You’re gay however you could have dedicated a heterosexual rape, which you admit,” stated Antoine Camus, Gisèle Pelicot’s lawyer. “On this trial we now have already heard of rapes dedicated ‘accidentally’, your specificity is to plead rape dedicated ‘reluctantly’.”
Patrick A apologised in court docket. He advised the court docket he had recognized he was homosexual from his teenage years however sought to cover it from his homophobic mother and father. He married a girl, had two kids and after divorcing at 43 recurrently met males for intercourse in saunas and backrooms of sex-shops within the Avignon area, and truck-drivers in motorway laybys.
Didier S, 68
A former long-distance lorry driver and divorced father of two, Didier S stated he went to Dominique Pelicot’s home “solely for a gay encounter” with him. He denied the cost of raping Gisèle Pelicot on 30 January 2019. He stated he had thought she was pretending to be asleep.
In court docket, he stated he had had no intention to rape Gisèle Pelicot and was merely following her husband’s directions. “It’s not me you need to be indignant with, it’s your husband,” he advised Gisèle Pelicot in court docket, making an attempt to catch her eye. She turned away.
He lived a 20-minute drive away, had logged on to the chatroom at 8pm one night time, and two hours later went to the Pelicots’ residence.
5 years earlier he underwent bladder and prostate surgical procedure for most cancers and had begun assembly males. The court docket heard he was raped when he was 16.
Karim S, 40
A pc skilled with two college levels, Karim S denied raping Gisèle Pelicot on 27 June 2020. He’s additionally charged with possessing youngster abuse imagery discovered on his laptop through the investigation. He denied these expenses, saying he downloaded the pictures “inadvertently”.
He advised the court docket of the night time he went to the Pelicots’ residence: “I didn’t go there with the purpose of committing a criminal offense and I had completely no concept that Mrs Pelicot was not consenting.” Messages between him and Pelicot confirmed them discussing Gisèle Pelicot in crude phrases, referring to her not being conscious of what was happening. Karim S had been advised that Gisèle Pelicot can be “asleep from alcohol and a sleeping pill” however he stated he had thought it was a sport.
Dominique Pelicot, who advised Karim he was a health care provider, invited him again in August. Karim stated he feigned meals poisoning as an excuse as a result of the June encounter had been “too weird for me”.
He grew up in Marseille and had moved to a picturesque village half an hour’s drive from Mazan simply earlier than the Covid lockdowns of 2020.
Vincent C, 42
Vincent C, a carpenter, was convicted of home violence in opposition to his ex-partner in 2021 and given a six-month suspended sentence. The court docket heard he had had an alcohol habit since he was a youngster.
He’s accused of raping Gisèle Pelicot at her residence on two events in October 2019 and January 2020. He denies rape. He admitted a sexual encounter however stated he had had no intention of committing rape. He stated he had thought Gisèle Pelicot would get up.
He met Dominique Pelicot within the chatroom after a postcode search on the positioning to search out individuals close by. He tended to go online after his village bistro closed on a Saturday night time.
“I used to be searching for intercourse,” he stated, including that he had not put a lot thought into it. He stated he discovered the scenario within the Pelicots’ bed room “weird” however trusted the truth that he was “at a pair’s residence, invited by the husband”. He stated he felt no pleasure himself, however went again a second time as a result of Dominique Pelicot had advised him that he and Gisèle Pelicot had “loved it”. Pelicot stated Gisèle Pelicot had watched a video of his first go to and “appreciated it”, which for him, “closed the door on any doubt”, he stated. He stated he felt he had “glad” the Pelicots greater than himself.
Throughout his testimony, Gisèle Pelicot bought up and briefly left the courtroom, showing exasperated.
Jean-Marc L, 74
Describing himself as a former “worldwide truck-driver between Paris and Baghdad”, the divorced grandfather is the oldest of the accused males.
He denied raping Gisèle Pelicot in Might 2017. He stated he had at all times thought that rape was “one thing violent … performed by a madman, a brutal factor”, however that this had as an alternative been a “sexual sport”. He advised the court docket he had solely “obeyed orders” from Dominique Pelicot. He stated: “She was going to get up as a result of it was a sport.”
It was solely after he left the home that he thought of whether or not Gisèle Pelicot had consented. He didn’t alert the police. “I ought to have performed but it surely didn’t cross my thoughts.”
He stated Dominique Pelicot, whom he had met beforehand in a grocery store automobile park, had advised him he needed to “punish” his spouse for having had an affair prior to now.
He stated Pelicot requested him to return again one other time “with a buddy”, which he didn’t do, after mentioning it to a different truck driver who stated it wasn’t regular.
Jean-Marc L stated he had typically paid intercourse staff in Spain. “What truck driver hasn’t been to prostitutes?” he stated in court docket.
Dominique D, 45
Dominique D, a lorry driver and former soldier, stated he was contacted through the net chatroom in February 2015 by Dominique Pelicot, who stated he was searching for a person as a “present” for his spouse “for Valentine’s Day”.
Dominique D is accused of raping Gisèle Pelicot on six completely different events. Police discovered video proof of 5 visits to the Pelicots’ home, however he advised them of 1 additional go to.
He denied rape, saying he had not supposed to rape anybody. He advised the court docket: “I didn’t get up one morning and say to myself hey, at present I’m going to go to a few’s home and commit a criminal offense.”
He stated that earlier than going to the Pelicots’ residence for the primary time in 2015, he had requested to see Gisèle Pelicot and was despatched a video of her taken with out her data as she left the bathe. He additionally briefly visited the house pretending to be an electrician and noticed Gisèle Pelicot studying on the couch. He stated he felt he had sufficient ensures from Dominique Pelicot, including “I simply forgot one huge assure – Madame’s consent.”
He’s the youngest of 16 kids and was positioned in care on the age of six months.
Mohamed R, 70
Mohamed R, a former discotheque employee from La Rochelle who in 1999 was sentenced to 5 years in jail for raping his 17-year-old daughter, is accused of raping Gisèle Pelicot in Might 2019 on the vacation cottage of the Pelicots’ daughter, Caroline, on the island of Île-de-Ré within the west of France.
Mohamed R denied raping Gisèle Pelicot. He advised the court docket: “I couldn’t think about for a fraction of a second that Dominique Pelicot did that with out his spouse understanding.” He had been involved with Dominique Pelicot through the net chatroom.
Dominique Pelicot was requested in court docket why he had drugged and raped Gisèle Pelicot not simply on the couple’s own residence however at their daughter’s vacation residence, the place the Pelicots typically went with their grandchildren. The couple’s daughter and grandchildren weren’t on the cottage on the time.
Pelicot stated: “There was no symbolism, it may have occurred anyplace.”
Ahmed T, 54
Ahmed T, a plumber and former champion boxer married for greater than 30 years with three kids, is accused of raping Gisèle Pelicot on the couple’s residence in June 2019. He denied rape and advised the court docket: “I’m not a rapist, but when I had needed to rape I wouldn’t have chosen a 57-year-old girl, I might have chosen a fairly one.”
He was involved with Dominique Pelicot on a chat room, saying that on the time he was having much less intercourse together with his spouse and he “didn’t desire a mistress” however thought “why not” have an encounter with a pair. He stated Dominique Pelicot had referred to Gisèle Pelicot as “la bourgeoise”, saying she was away loads in Paris and residential at weekends. He stated he had thought Gisèle Pelicot should have been shy, and that he had trusted her husband.
Ahmed T stated he travelled to the couple’s residence by automobile after his personal spouse had gone to mattress.
Redouane A, 40
Redouane A, an unemployed, separated father of 4 who has convictions for home violence, housebreaking and loss of life threats and has served time in jail, went to the Pelicots’ residence twice in 2019.
He denied rape. He stated he had requested Dominique Pelicot if it was regular that Gisèle Pelicot was loud night breathing and had been advised: “Sure, we like doing it like that.”
He described the Pelicots’ residence as “a good looking home in Provence” with a “well-kept backyard”.
He stated he grew up on a housing property, started smoking hashish at 10 and was the sufferer of sexual abuse at this age, by an outdated man he met within the park who took him to his van. He left faculty at 16.
The query was raised in court docket of a potential analysis of schizophrenia, with one psychiatrist saying he as an alternative had a character dysfunction.
Mahdi D, 36
Mahdi D, a transport employee and father of 1 from Avignon, is accused of going to the Pelicots’ residence as soon as in October 2018.
He denied rape. He positioned the accountability on Dominique Pelicot, who he stated had offered himself on-line as a part of a pair who needed to satisfy single males.
Mahdi D stated of Gisèle Pelicot: “One can’t think about what she has been by means of, she has been destroyed and I’ve ideas not just for that poor girl however her entire entourage and household.” He stated it was “horrible” for him to search out himself caught up in one thing like this.
Cyril B, 47
Cyril B, a single lorry driver who described himself as a day by day client of hashish, is accused of raping Gisèle Pelicot at her residence in November 2018. He was recorded by Dominique Pelicot in a video known as “With Cyril from Carpentras.”
He denied rape and stated he had been manipulated and was not able to committing a rape. He stated he was additionally a sufferer of the scenario, as he had been duped by Dominique Pelicot, whom he had met on a web-based chatroom.
He advised the court docket he had beforehand had encounters with {couples} he met through web sites.
Cyprien C, 43
Cyprien C, a former lorry driver and father of 1, is accused of raping Gisèle Pelicot in her mattress in Mazan in 2017.
He denied rape. Throughout cross-examination, he accepted a sexual encounter had taken place and stated he was sorry to Gisèle Pelicot however that he may “not say greater than that”. He didn’t say the phrase rape, telling the court docket “I can’t say that it’s rape”, arguing that Dominique Pelicot had led him to imagine that Gisèle Pelicot was enjoying a task in a sport and “would fake to be asleep”.
The court docket heard he grew up in kids’s properties and foster households and later suffered from alcohol habit as an grownup.
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