The daughter of a pensioner accused of recruiting 50 men to rape his drugged wife left a courtroom in tears after the judge said her father also kept naked photos of her.
Dominique Pélicot, 71, is charged with inviting men to have intercourse with his wife Gisèle via a now-banned online chat forum after drugging her unconscious.
Some 35 defendants on Tuesday pleaded not guilty and 14 guilty, including Pélicot, who admitted to investigators that he gave his wife powerful tranquilisers, including Temesta, an anxiety-reducing drug.
One defendant is absent for unexplained reasons and another is on the run. They each face up to 20 years in jail if found guilty.
On day two of the trial in Avignon, southern France, harrowing details emerged as Roger Arata, the presiding judge, spent the entire day summing up the case, laid out in a 400-page indictment.
The judge, who is presiding over a panel of five professional magistrates, told the court that photos of Pélicot’s naked daughter Caroline Darian – a pen name – had been found on his computer, in a file entitled: “Around my daughter, naked.”
She collapsed in tears and left the room shaking with emotion, escorted by her two brothers and Antoine Camus, her mother’s lawyer, but reappeared some 20 minutes later.
For the couple’s children, “it’s immensely painful, unbearable”, Mr Camus said afterwards.
“Even if they are not discovering anything new as they know the case, it was particularly gruelling this morning.”
The wife’s lawyers said she was so heavily sedated she was not aware of the abuse that went on for a decade, mainly at their home in Mazan, Provence.
She has commenced divorce proceedings.
The case, which has appalled France, came to light by chance when Pélicot was caught filming up women’s skirts in a local supermarket in 2020.
When questioned, he said that he had “acted on urges” that he had “not been able to control”.
The defendants include a fireman, lorry driver, councillor, IT worker in a bank, prison guard, nurse and a journalist.
Ms Darian told Le Parisien this week that she was haunted by the fear her father may have invited some of the men to rape her after a picture of her “in someone else’s underwear” was found on his computer.
“I’m convinced I was drugged, but he’ll never admit it,” she told the French daily.
Pélicot sat at the other end of the courtroom, directly opposite his wife on the second day of the trial. He was dressed in a grey T-shirt and listened intently to the proceedings. The couple’s two sons were also present. One stared at the father fixedly.
At first impassive, Pélicot appeared to fight back tears and bit his lips in front of his ex-wife and their three children.
The judge said he had told investigators that around “three out of 10 men” refused his invitation after he explained in online chats what he was doing to his wife.
He cited some of the curious responses given by the men during police questioning.
One said he thought nothing illegal or non-consensual had occurred because of the presence of cameras at the couple’s home. “It couldn’t have been anything bad because it was all filmed,” he is cited as saying.
Another said that “as long as the husband was present, there was no rape”.
A third claimed he thought it was all part of “a couple’s game”, the court heard.
Other defendants claim to have been under the “sway” of Pélicot, who acted like a “very controlling conductor”.
“I did what he asked but I didn’t know why,” claimed one.
But the judge cited the examining magistrate who stated that the defendants “could not have been unaware, in view of the victim’s inert state, that she was not in a normal state of consciousness”.
“The victim was in a state closer to a coma than to sleep,” he added, citing expert reports.
The trial continues.
06:01 PM BST
That’s all for today
Thanks for following our live coverage of the second day of the trial.
We will be back soon with more updates.
06:00 PM BST
Suspect’s children suffer ‘unbearable’ day in court
For the children of Dominique and Gisele Pélicot “it’s immensely painful, unbearable”, their lawyer Antoine Camus said on Tuesday.
“Even if they are not discovering anything new as they know the case, it was particularly gruelling this morning.”
05:21 PM BST
Pélicot charged with rape and murder of estate agent in 1991
In a separate case, Dominique Pélicot has also been charged with raping and murdering a 23-year-old estate agent in Paris in 1991.
He also is facing trial for an attempted rape in 1999 having recently been identified through DNA traces found on the women’s belongings.
He admits the attempted rape and denies the rape and murder.
05:02 PM BST
Pélicot first caught in 2020 upskirting women
The case against Dominique Pélicot only came to light by chance after he was caught filming up women’s skirts in a local supermarket in 2020.
When questioned, he said that he had “acted on urges” that he had “not been able to control”.
Experts said he does not appear to be mentally ill, but concluded that he needed to feel “all-powerful” over the female body, according to assessments included in court documents.
04:02 PM BST
Pictured: Protests outside the court
03:44 PM BST
‘Without her knowledge’ forum used to recruit strangers
During searches investigators came across thousands of photos and videos showing Gisele Pélicot being sexually abused by strangers recruited online on a forum called “Without her knowledge” on the controversial website coco.gg, shut down by the courts since last June.
Dominique Pélicot, who appeared on the site under a pseudonym, has claimed he took part “occasionally” in the online forum and that it was “not his habit”.
But several discussions were found in which he sometimes used the term “rape” and told potential attackers that administering sleeping pills to his wife allowed him to abuse her by engaging practices she would normally refuse.
He order 450 pills in the space of a year, according to the national health insurance.
03:03 PM BST
35 plead not guilty, 14 guilty
At least 35 defendants have pleaded not guilty and 14 guilty, including the prime suspect Dominique Pélicot.
One defendant is absent for unexplained reasons and another is on the run.
01:47 PM BST
Victim was in state ‘closer to coma than sleep’
“The victim was in a state closer to a coma than to sleep”, said presiding judge Arata, citing reports made by experts.
“None of (the defendants) had spoken to the victim” during the alleged rapes, he added.
The trial has been adjourned for lunch.
01:32 PM BST
10 alleged rapists still not identified
The judge told the court that 10 of Mrs Pélicot’s alleged attackers have “never been identified by investigators”.
However, for the defendants on trial, the judge read out a series of their apparent justifications, citing one who considering that “as long as the husband was present, there was no rape”.
Another claimed he thought it was all part of “a couple’s game”, the court heard.
“The relationship had to take place at night in complete darkness because the woman was shy and hung up despite her desire. She would pretend to be asleep,” another was quoted as saying.
Other defendants claim to have been under the “sway” of Pélicot who acted like a “very controlling conductor”.
“I did what he asked but I didn’t know why,” claimed one defendant.
01:11 PM BST
Judge says husband gave ‘clear instructions’ to would-be rapists
As the judge read out his summary of the indictment, he said that “the instructions were clear” to the would-be rapists allegedly recruited by Dominique Pélicot.
“Come at night, without perfume or the smell of cigarettes. The men were to undress outside the bedroom, make no noise and leave at the slightest movement or sign that the victim was awake,” he told the court.
12:53 PM BST
Pélicot claims only ‘3 out of 10 men’ refused invitation to rape wife
Dominique Pélicot told investigators that around “3 out of 10 men” refused his invitation after he explained what he was doing to his wife in online chats.
In his indictment, the examining magistrate stated that the defendants “could not have been unaware, in view of the victim’s inert state, that she was not in a normal state of consciousness”.
12:17 PM BST
More arguments by defendants read by judge
The presiding judge has read out more justifications by defendants accused of raping Ms Pélicot.
“The husband is seen as the spokesperson for the couple and the holder of her consent to his marriage,” he said, citing one of the defendants arguments.
Another defendant expressed regret for the victim and immediately said that he was “as much a victim as she was”, believing that he had been tricked by the husband.
11:55 AM BST
Main suspect appears close to emotion in court
Cracks have emerged in the until-now impassive prime suspect in the serial rape trial in Avignon, according to journalists present in court.
Dominique Pélicot “seems to be holding back his emotion, his eyes shining, he seems to be swallowing tears and biting his lips in front of his family, his ex-wife and their three children,” Marion Dubreuil of RMC Info said.
11:44 AM BST
Daughter of Pélicot fears she was drugged
The daughter of the main suspect Caroline Darian left the courtroom for 20 minutes after the presiding judge mentioned that a computer of her nude had been found in her father’s computer.
Ms Darian told Le Parisien this week that she was haunted by the fear her father may have invited some of the men to rape her after a picture of her “in someone else’s underwear” was found on his computer.
“I’m convinced I was drugged, but he’ll never admit it,” she told the French daily.
11:34 AM BST
Man accused of raping pensioner’s drugged wife says camera made it ok
One of 51 men accused of raping a pensioner’s drugged wife said he thought that the presence of camera’s made it above board, a French court heard on Tuesday.
Presiding judge Roger Arata began day two of the trial by citing some of the curious responses given by the men during police questioning for their involvement.
One appears to suggest he thought nothing illegal or non-consensual had occurred due to the presence of cameras at the couple’s Provence home. “It couldn’t have been anything bad because it was all filmed,” he is cited as saying.
The judge appeared to dismiss some of the defendant’s claims that the wife was play-acting at being asleep as part of a libertine fantasy. “The victim was not asleep, but unconscious, which explains why the incident lasted so long,” he said.
11:03 AM BST
Who are the defendants?
The defendants, 18 of whom have been in detention awaiting the trial, are of all ages – from 21 to 68 at the time of the alleged rapes.
They come from all walks of life, including a fireman, lorry driver, municipal councillor, IT worker in a bank, prison guard, nurse and a journalist.
Some were single, others married or divorced, and some family men.
Most participated just once, some up to six times.
Police counted a total of 92 rapes, committed by 72 men of whom 51 were formally identified, over a ten-year period.
09:57 AM BST
Wife waived right to anonymity so ‘this never happens again’
Gisèle Pélicot has waived her right to anonymity to insist that her rape trial remains public so “this never happens again”.
Mrs Pélicot insisted the trial should not go on behind closed doors because “that’s what her attackers would have wanted”, said Antoine Camus, one of her lawyers.
“She is completely determined to face them and her husband with whom she lived for 50 years but whom she knew nothing about, as she discovered at 68,” he added.
09:51 AM BST
Hello and welcome to our live coverage
We’re bringing you all the latest updates from the trial of a French pensioner, Dominique Pélicot, who is accused of recruiting more than 50 strangers online to rape his wife in their Provence home.
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