WARNING: This story comprises distressing particulars from the start.
Dominique Pelicot, 71, accused of drugging his spouse to sleep and recruiting dozens of males to abuse her for greater than a decade, admitted in his first testimony because the trial started on September 2. All his expenses.
Talking of the 50 co-defendants accused of raping his now ex-wife Gisele, Mr Pellicott mentioned: “I’m as a lot a rapist as anybody else on this room.”
“All of them know they can not say the other,” he mentioned.
Talking of his ex-wife, he mentioned: “She did not need to be handled like this.”
“I am very completely happy along with her,” he informed the court docket.
Gisele was quickly given the possibility to reply, saying: “It is arduous for me to listen to this. For 50 years I’ve lived with a person that I by no means imagined I might do that. I belief him. Fully.
Though cameras weren’t allowed within the courtroom, the trial was open to the general public on the request of Giselle Pellicott, who waived her proper to anonymity at the beginning of the proceedings. Her authorized workforce mentioned an open trial would shift “stigma” again onto the defendants.
Mr Pellicott, a father and grandfather, started his proof by telling the court docket a few traumatic childhood expertise, saying he was abused by a male nurse when he was 9.
When requested about his marriage to Gisele, Pellicott mentioned he thought of suicide when he found she was having an affair. He mentioned he wished to crash the automobile right into a row of timber however lacked the braveness. “Perhaps I ought to,” he added.
Throughout his testimony on Tuesday morning, Mr Pellicott repeatedly assured the court docket that he by no means “hated” his spouse and was in reality “loopy about her”. [her]…I liked her very a lot and nonetheless do.
“I liked her for 40 years and liked her for 10 years,” he added, apparently referring to the ten years he drugged and abused her.
He was additionally requested in regards to the hundreds of movies he took of males abusing his unconscious spouse. These have been found by investigators and helped observe down 50 males now accused of rape.
Mr Pellicott admitted he photographed the lads partly for “pleasure” but in addition “as insurance coverage, beginning at the moment, due to [the videos] We’ve been capable of finding the folks concerned on this matter.”
Mr Pellicot was then questioned by Stéphane Babonneau, considered one of Gisele’s legal professionals, who requested him why he couldn’t convey himself to cease abusing her, even after she began to develop well being issues which It was really a aspect impact of the remedy he was taking.
“I attempted to give up, however my habit acquired stronger and my wants grew,” he mentioned.
“I attempted to reassure her that I had betrayed her belief. I ought to have stopped earlier, in reality I shouldn’t have began in any respect.”
Mr Pellicott can also be accused of drugging and abusing his daughter Caroline after semi-nude pictures of her have been discovered on his laptop computer. He has beforehand denied this and on Tuesday mentioned he had by no means touched his grandson. “I can look my household within the eyes and inform them nothing else occurred,” he mentioned.
Pellicot’s lawyer, Béatrice Zavarro, informed French tv that she did not know what folks would consider her shopper, however that he was “sharing his reality.”
She added that Mr. Pellicott was “very oppressed” and that whereas she didn’t know the way his spouse would react to his plea for mercy, “the plea course of is ongoing and he’ll proceed to take action.”
“We are going to know all the things about Dominic Pelicot on the finish of the trial,” she mentioned.
Pelicott was recognized with a kidney an infection and kidney stones and was absent from court docket for practically per week on account of sickness. He’ll testify all through the day, though he can be allowed frequent breaks.
