Warning: This story contains distressing details from the start.
Dominique Pelicot, the 71-year-old man accused of drugging his wife to sleep and recruiting dozens of men to abuse her for over 10 years, has admitted to all the charges against him in his first testimony since the trial opened on 2 September.
Referring to the 50 co-defendants who are accused of raping his now ex-wife Gisèle, Mr Pelicot said: “I am a rapist like the others in this room.”
“They all knew, they cannot say the contrary,” he said.
Of his ex-wife, he said: “She did not deserve this.”
“I was very happy with her,” he told the court.
Gisèle, who was given the chance to respond shortly after, said: “It is difficult for me to listen to this. For 50 years, I lived with a man who I would’ve never imagined could be capable of this. I trusted him completely.”
Mr Pelicot, who is a father and grandfather, told the court of traumatic childhood experiences and said he was abused by a male nurse when he was nine years old.
When asked about his marriage to Gisèle, Mr Pelicot said he considered suicide when he found out she was having an affair. He said he wanted to crash his car into a row of trees, but lacked the courage. “Maybe I should have,” he added.
Mr Pelicot also expanded on his feelings for Gisèle, who he said he was “crazy about… I loved her immensely, and I still do.”
“I loved her well for 40 years and badly for 10,” he added, apparently referring to the decade during which he drugged her and abused her.
He was also asked about the thousands of videos he took of men abusing his unconscious wife. These were found by investigators and were instrumental in tracking down the 50 men who are now accused of rape.
Mr Pelicot recognised he had filmed the men partly for “pleasure,” but also “as insurance, since today, it is thanks to [the videos] that we have been able to find the people who took part in this”.
Although no cameras are allowed in court, the trial is open to the public at the request of Gisèle Pelicot, who waived her right to anonymity at the beginning of the proceedings. Her legal team said opening up the trial would shift the “shame” back on to the accused.
Mr Pelicot, who was diagnosed with a kidney infection and kidney stones, was absent from court for nearly a week because of illness. He is set to give his testimony throughout the day, although he will be allowed frequent breaks.
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