Gisele Pelicot: Husband ‘destroyed’ and betrayed me, says woman at centre of France mass rape trial

Published

9 months ago

October 23, 2024

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The woman at the centre of a mass rape trial in France has said she can’t comprehend how the “perfect man” betrayed her – as she spoke in court for the first time.

Gisele Pelicot, 72, was sedated and raped by her former husband Dominique Pelicot.

For almost a decade, he crushed sleeping pills and other anti-anxiety drugs into her food and drink and allegedly recruited men online to rape her.

He’s already admitted his crimes, carried out between 2011 and 2020, and said he organised dozens of men to come to the house and rape her while she was comatose.

Supported by family, Ms Pelicot was applauded as she arrived at court on Wednesday.

She spoke directly to her ex-husband during the testimony

“I still don’t understand how this man who was the perfect man could do this, could destroy my life and betray me,” she said.

“I haven’t been able look Dominique Pelicot in the face – but today I talk to him,” she said as part of a statement at the mid-point of the trial.

“We have 50 years together. I was a happy wife; we have three kids and seven grandkids.

“You were a good husband and a good man, and I trusted you. I never doubted you,” she said, beginning to cry.

But this good man, she told the court, was responsible for her being raped 100 times.

Ms Pelicot expressed anger and disbelief that he allegedly allowed people in their bedroom when he knew she was against swinging.

When she became sick, he accompanied her to the gynaecologist but nobody suspected a thing, she told the court.

“My life has been turned upside down. You chose to do this,” she told him.

The judge asked about their mealtime routine, referring to evidence that Dominique Pelicot had slipped drugs into her food.

Gisele Pelicot said he had made lots of meals and often brought her ice cream afterwards.

“I thought ‘wow’, I’m lucky to have a husband who looks after me like this,” she told the court, explaining she was totally unaware the food was drugged.

She said she must have fallen asleep quickly, as she often woke up tired and in her pyjamas.

If she was raped in the day, she said her husband must have drugged her orange juice.

During questioning, she was asked if she thought her ex-husband had acted out of vengeance.

She said she’d considered he might have been trying to punish her after she had a lover once in their relationship, around 30 years ago.

Ms Pelicot also said her former husband had talked about mistresses.

Forty-nine of the 51 men on trial, including Dominique Pelicot, are accused of rape, one of attempted rape and one of sexual assault.

A few admit the charges but say they didn’t intend to commit rape.

Most, however, deny the allegations, with some claiming they believed they were part of a game between the couple.

The men are aged between 26 and 74 and most lived in southeast France. Among them are a journalist, soldier and lorry driver.

They face up to 20 years in jail if convicted.

‘I am a destroyed woman’

Gisele Pelicot said she had waived her right to anonymity and allowed videos of the attacks to be shown in court because “it makes people see the truth”.

During her statement, she also addressed the women who had given evidence in support of the co-defendants.

“When I hear mothers, sisters and partners talk about their men as normal… the profile of a rapist can be normal, can be a friend or a family man,” she said.

“Can you imagine what that does to me? That I was accused of pretending to be asleep and that I was aware of what was happening. It’s violent.”

She said she was a “destroyed woman” and was getting psychological help.

Despite the trauma, she said she wanted to offer hope and strength to other victims: “I wanted that all victims of rape could say, ‘well if Gisele can do it, we can do it’.

“Because when we are raped, we have shame, but it’s not for us to be ashamed, but for those men,” she declared.

She said she was hurt when a defence lawyer asked her at what point the sexual activity was rape.

“They did this to an unconscious woman. Rape is a rape,” she said, becoming emotional.

Reacting to some defendants apologising, she said it would have been apparent when they touched her that she was not conscious.

“They are apologising to themselves, not to me,” she said.

‘He found sex elsewhere’

Earlier on Wednesday, the court heard from the partners of some of the men accused of raping the 72-year-old.

The wife of one said that because she refused him sex “he found it elsewhere”.

The 45-year-old described her husband Jean Luc-L as “a good husband and father”.

She said their life was normal, adding: “He never hit me. I often refused sex. He insisted but then if I refused, he would be unhappy and then leave”.

Recalling when police told her about the claims, the mother of two said: “I was in shock, but I think that because I refused him sex, as a man, that’s why he found it elsewhere.”

Hearing the comment, Ms Pelicot expressed surprise through her lawyer.

“I understand Gisele’s position,” the co-defendant’s wife said.

The lawyer asked her about Ms Pelicot’s surprise at her comment: “It’s because I kept refusing and for a long time,” she replied, prompting audible gasps from some in court.

“I understand what my husband did to Gisele is unacceptable and I share her pain,” she said.

The woman said she hadn’t left her husband and still visited him in prison.

Another woman, the ex-partner of Florian R, described him as “a normal guy”.

“We were good, we were normal,” she said, explaining they have children but split up in 2019.

The 37-year-old said their sex life had been “normal”, “basic” and didn’t involve fantasies.

Talking about when she heard he was being investigated, she said: “Initially I thought he was in trouble with the police because he was with a girl who I thought was too young… she was 14 years old.”

She said they still talked on the phone due to their children, who she had taken to visit him in jail.

The trial in Avignon is expected to continue until the end of the year.

World

Buddhist monk sex scandal grips Thailand as woman arrested

Published

5 hours ago

July 17, 2025

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Buddhist monk sex scandal grips Thailand as woman arrested

A sex scandal has rocked Thailand’s Buddhist clergy after a woman allegedly enticed a string of monks into having sex with her and then blackmailed them.

At least nine abbots and senior monks have been disrobed and cast out of the monkhood, the Royal Thai Police Central Investigation Bureau said.

Wilawan Emsawat, in her mid-30s, is accused of enticing senior monks into having sex with her and then pressuring them into making large payments to cover it up.

Thai monks are largely members of the Theravada sect, which requires them to be celibate and refrain from even touching a woman.

Several monks transferred large amounts of money after Wilawan initiated romantic relationships with them, police said -her bank accounts received around 385 million baht (£8.8m) in the past three years, with most of that spent on gambling websites.

Wilawan was arrested at her home in Nonthaburi province, north of the capital Bangkok, on charges including extortion, money laundering and receiving stolen goods.

Thai media reported a search of her mobile phones revealed tens of thousands of photos and videos, as well as numerous chat logs indicating intimacy with several monks, many of which could be used for blackmail.

An investigation was launched last month after an abbot of a famous temple in Bangkok abruptly left the monkhood.

He had allegedly been blackmailed by Wilawan over their romantic relationship, investigators found.

She told the monk she was pregnant and asked him to pay her 7.2 million baht (£165,000), Jaroonkiat Pankaew, a Central Investigation Bureau deputy commissioner, said at a news conference in Bangkok on Tuesday.

Acting Prime Minister Phumtham Wechayachai ordered authorities to review and consider tightening existing laws related to monks and temples, especially the transparency of temple finances, to restore faith in Buddhism, government spokesperson Jirayu Houngsub said on Tuesday.

The Central Investigation Bureau has set up a Facebook page for people to report monks who misbehave, Mr Jaroonkiat said.

“We will investigate monks across the country,” he said. “I believe that the ripple effects of this investigation will lead to a lot of changes.”

World

Tomorrowland: ‘Devastating’ blaze destroys main stage at major festival – two days before it was due to begin

Published

14 hours ago

July 17, 2025

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Tomorrowland: 'Devastating' blaze destroys main stage at major festival - two days before it was due to begin

A huge fire has destroyed the main stage of a major festival in Belgium – two days before it was due to begin.

Tomorrowland is a dance music event as big as Glastonbury – and David Guetta was due to perform.

Footage showed flames and thick plumes of black smoke engulfing the stage and spreading to nearby woodland on Wednesday.

The annual festival in the town of Boom, north of Brussels, is one of the biggest in Europe and attracts about 400,000 people over two consecutive weekends.

It is famous for its immersive and elaborate designs and attracts big names within dance music – including Guetta, best known for tracks When Love Takes Over and Titanium.

Dutch DJs Martin Garrix and Charlotte de Witte were also due to perform, along with the likes of Swedish House Mafia, Eric Prydz and Alok.

The festival’s website described the creative elements which went into the elaborate main stage.

The theme, described as Orbyz, was “set in a magical universe made entirely out of ice” and “full of mythical creatures”.

Organisers said no one was injured in the blaze but confirmed “our beloved main stage has been severely damaged”, adding they were “devastated”.

Spokesperson Debby Wilmsen added: “We received some truly terrible news today. A fire broke out on the Tomorrowland site … and our main stage was essentially destroyed there, which is truly awful.

“That’s a stage that took years to build, with so much love and passion. So I think a lot of people are devastated.”

Despite the fire, Tomorrowland organisers said they were still expecting 38,000 festivalgoers at DreamVille, the event’s campsite.

World

Why Israel is getting involved in Syria’s internal fighting

Published

23 hours ago

July 16, 2025

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Why Israel is getting involved in Syria's internal fighting

Israel has shown little respect for international borders since becoming the unrivalled military hegemon of the Middle East. Today that meant an Israeli airstrike on a government building in Damascus.

Israel says its attack on a Syrian defence ministry facility was intended as a warning to the new government: stay out of the part of southern Syria we have occupied or else.

Israel has moved into parts of the south of the country, built military bases and declared a line of control.

On Monday, Syrian tanks heading south to try and restore order following an outbreak of factional fighting were attacked by Israeli warplanes.

“The presence of such vehicles in southern Syria could pose a threat to Israel,” stated the Israel Defence Forces.

In reality, Syria’s ageing tanks pose minimal threat to Israel’s state-of-the art military.

The Syrian armour was attacked as it entered the area around Sweida in the Druze heartland of southern Syria following factional fighting there.

The flare-up reportedly began with clashes between Bedouin and Druze groups that ended in scores killed.

The background to the escalation is complicated.

At least three Druze militia groups are divided in their loyalties to different religious leaders and differ over how they should respond to calls to assimilate into the new post-revolutionary Syria.

Israel is becoming more and more involved in Syria’s internecine war and says it will remain there indefinitely “to protect our communities and thwart any threat”.

Its critics say Israel is operating a policy of divide and rule in Syria, weakening the fledgling government and creating a buffer zone to protect the border with the Golan Heights – originally Syrian territory that it has occupied and annexed for almost half a century.

Since the fall of the Assad regime, Israel has used airstrikes to destroy of much of Syria’s military capability weakening its ability to impose control on outlying regions. This makes it more not less likely Israel will have a volatile unstable state on its northern border.

America and European powers have chosen to normalise relations with the new government in Damascus and lift sanctions.

In contrast Israel has occupied its territory, bombed its military and today hit one of its government buildings in the capital with an airstrike.

Since its crushing military campaigns against Hamas, Hezbollah and Iran, Israel has emerged as the unchallenged military power of the region.

There is however a limit to what blunt force can achieve alone. It requires diplomacy to achieve lasting gains and Israel’s repeated assaults on multiple neighbours combined with its relentless campaign in Gaza are winning it few friends in the region.