French Husband, Who Filmed Drugged Wife Being Raped by Strangers, Accused Her of Cheating to Cover Up His Crimes

The trial of Dominique Pelicot, accused of drugging his wife and organising her rape by strangers, begins in Avignon, France

A French court has heard how 71-year-old Dominique Pelicot allegedly orchestrated the rape of his wife, Gisele Pelicot, by dozens of strangers over a period of nearly a decade. The trial, which is taking place in the southern city of Avignon, has shocked the nation and exposed a disturbing campaign of abuse that took place between 2011 and 2020.

The court heard how Mr Pelicot is accused of drugging his wife with tranquillisers and recruiting men from an online site for swingers and voyeurs to rape her in their home in the village of Mazan. He allegedly filmed the assaults, which took place while his wife was unconscious, and stored the footage and images on his computer.

The case against Mr Pelicot only came to light by chance in September 2020 when he was caught filming up women’s skirts in a supermarket. During the subsequent investigation, police uncovered more than 20,000 images and videos of Madame Pelicot being sexually abused by 72 different men. Many of the men had been recruited through an online forum called “Without Her Knowledge” on a controversial website called Coco, which has since been shut down by the courts.

In court, Mr Pelicot’s lawyer, Beatrice Zavarro, claimed that her client had “uncontrollable sexual impulses” and that he felt “huge remorse” for his actions. She told reporters that he was ashamed of what he had done and that his behaviour was the result of “a form of addiction”.

However, the prosecution painted a very different picture, depicting a man who had attempted to cover up his crimes by portraying his wife as a sex-obsessed swinger and suggesting that she was secretly having affairs while he was out. They told the court that Mr Pelicot had even laughed at his wife and insinuated that she was unfaithful, asking her, “So, what are you doing with your days?”

The true extent of the abuse was only revealed when Madame Pelicot, who has waived her anonymity for the case, sought medical advice for gynaecological issues and discovered that they were the result of multiple rapes. Her lawyers stated that she had been so heavily sedated that she was unaware of the abuse that was taking place.

Adding to the disturbing nature of the case, Mr Pelicot’s daughter, Caroline Darian, temporarily left the courtroom in tears when it was revealed that her father had nude photomontages of her on his computer. Ms Darian, who has written a book about the impact of her father’s alleged crimes, previously told reporters that she feared her father may have invited some of the men to rape her as well.

The trial, which is expected to conclude in December, has seen rape charges brought against Mr Pelicot and 50 other men who have been identified as taking part in the assaults. Eighteen of the accused, including Mr Pelicot, are in custody, while 32 other defendants are attending the trial as free men. A 51st man is being judged in absentia. Most of the men face up to 20 years in jail for aggravated rape if convicted.

As the trial continues, the nation of France is left reeling from the horrific details of a case that has exposed a decade-long campaign of abuse and the disturbing actions of a man who, to the outside world, portrayed a “perfect” marriage.