Frenchman admits to mass rape of his wife as ‘an addiction’

AVIGNON, France: Dominique Pelicot admitted to drugging his wife and recruiting dozens of strangers to rape her over nearly a decade, begging his family’s forgiveness, as he told a French court on Tuesday: “I am a rapist.”

Pelicot’s hearing, the centrepiece of one of France’s most spectacular criminal trials in recent history, had to be pushed back last week due to his bad health.

He faces multiple charges including rape, gang rape and privacy breaches by recording and disseminating sexual images.

Pelicot appeared in court with a cane on Tuesday morning and spoke to the judge through a microphone. His lawyer said he took heavy medication and was allowed to take breaks to lie down throughout the day.

“I am a rapist just like all the others in this room,” he said, adding, “I ask my wife, my children, my grandchildren to accept my apologies. I regret what I did. I ask for your forgiveness, even if it is not forgivable.”

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The case has shocked the country and triggered nationwide protests in support of his wife Gisele, who has become a symbol of the struggle against sexual violence in France.

Pelicot told the courtroom he had a difficult upbringing and had himself been a victim of rape. At times he cried, according to French media.

He said he had wanted his wife to participate in partner swaps and her refusal, together with trauma from his youth, had helped to trigger his abusive behaviour.

“It became a perversion, an addiction,” he told the courtroom.

Gisele Pelicot was in the courtroom during his appearance on the stand and was greeted with applause by spectators when she left during breaks.

PUBLIC TRIAL

She had insisted on a public trial to expose her husband and the other men accused of raping her.

“For 50 years, I lived with a man who I would never have imagined was capable of these acts of rape,” she said.

Gisele Pelicot began divorce proceedings after meeting with investigators over the case.

When asked by one of the lawyers if he thought he could win back his former partner, Dominique Pelicot said: “It is important to have hope. Otherwise, it’s over.”

Prosecutors have said Pelicot, who was initially arrested after filming up a woman’s skirt in a supermarket, offered sex with his wife on a website called Coco and filmed the abuse.

In addition to Pelicot, 50 other men, currently aged 26 to 74, are also on trial on rape charges in the southern city of Avignon. Pelicot has said a total of 72 men participated in the abuse of his then-wife.

“I want to prove that my wife was a victim and not an accomplice, to prove that this was completely without her knowledge,” he said.

While some of the defendants admitted guilt to the investigators, others have said they believed they were enacting a couple’s fantasy and that Gisele Pelicot had in fact consented to sex.

“When they came, they already knew everything. They all knew how this went about before the meetings,” said Pelicot.

Investigators found 300 photographs and a video of the acts and filed them in folders, including one titled “Abuse,” according to a court document.

Gisele Pelicot told investigators that she had suffered from memory lapses and had consulted a gynaecologist for unexplained pains.

The trial is set to last through December. If found guilty, the defendants face up to 20 years in jail.