His father is one of France’s worst sex offenders, his mother a national hero.

As the friendly, smartly dressed man sits in front of me, waiting for our interview to begin, it is impossible to understand the pain and anguish which has haunted David Pelicot and his family over the last four years.

“He was my father, but he’s not anymore,” David says. “Today he’s a monster.”

David is the eldest son of Gisele Pelicot, the woman at the centre of a mass rape trial who became a household name after waiving her right to anonymity and bravely declaring that “shame must change sides”.

His father, Dominique, admitted repeatedly drugging and raping Gisele between 2011 and 2020, and inviting dozens of other men to their home in southern France to do the same.

As strangers attacked his sedated wife, Dominique filmed them, building up a vile library of abuse.

His crimes were exposed by chance in 2020 after he was caught filming up women’s skirts in a local supermarket.

When police seized his devices, they uncovered 20,000 meticulously organised videos and images of abuse.

Gisele was the unconscious victim in many of them.

On 2 November 2020, police showed her what they had found.

After seeing herself violated in the most hideous ways, she had to call her children to tell them what their father had done.

“It’s a moment that will remain etched in my memory forever,” David says, as he recounts the evening which would destroy his family.

He remembers his wife answering the phone, speaking to his mother and turning pale before handing him the call. His mother gently asked him to go somewhere quiet, where he could be alone.

She then explained she had been repeatedly raped by his father and dozens of other men.

“What she told me was like a tsunami,” David says.

“I felt so many emotions rising within me… and then the nausea which had been mounting during the entire conversation reached a peak.

“I hung up the phone and it felt like the floor gave way under my feet, and I felt sick. I went to the bathroom and threw up.”

Read more:
How Gisele Pelicot went from victim to feminist hero
Inside the depraved mind of ‘career criminal’ Dominique

Just like his mother, the 50-year-old is dignified and clear as he relives the moment he discovered the father he loved and trusted was a manipulative monster.

Dominique Pelicot, the affable guy who people liked, was a predator who carefully planned his crimes, crushing sleep-inducing drugs into his unsuspecting wife’s food before allowing strangers to abuse and degrade her.

No day was off limits; Gisele was assaulted on her birthday, Valentine’s Day and New Year’s Eve.

“The moment we were told that she had been abused by more than 50 men was very difficult to hear, because this man, Dominique Pelicot, was the backbone of the family,” David continues.

“He’d taught me to respect women, so when I heard what he’d done to our own mother, as the eldest son, I was filled with anger and total incomprehension.”

Throughout our conversation, David always uses Dominique’s full name.

He explains it’s his way of moving forward and grieving.

In December, Dominique Pelicot was sentenced to 20 years in jail after admitting his crimes.

During the trial, his lawyer argued he had a split personality which enabled him to be a seemingly perfect husband and loving father while secretly committing hideous assaults.

The question of how he had managed to trick them all clearly plays on David’s mind.

He says he believes Dominique is a Jekyll and Hyde type character who can be kind one minute, then depraved and cruel another.

The trial heard as well as the attacks on Gisele, Dominique put up cameras to secretly film and photograph his son’s wives, including one who was pregnant.

The cameras were hidden in their bathrooms or rooms in his home.

He then shared naked photos of them online.

He also took photos of his adult daughter, Caroline, semi-naked while she was asleep.

Dominique has always denied assaulting her, but she is terrified she was another of his victims.

David tells me he also believes his sister was abused and pledges to help her in her fight for justice.

After police exposed Dominique’s crimes, David cut him off. But just before the trial started his father sent him a letter.

“The first thing I asked myself was why is he writing to me? Is he writing to apologise? To ask for forgiveness? Or to try to manipulate me?” he says.

“So, I read his letter carefully, but quite honestly, I tore it up and threw it in the bin.

“Personally, I will never forgive him.”

There’s only one question he wants to ask his father – why?

Why did he do this to his wife, to his children and his grandchildren?

Gisele isn’t believed to be Dominique’s only victim but David doesn’t believe his father will ever tell the truth about his crimes.

“I have no doubt he’ll die in prison, but I’m convinced that he’ll take many of his secrets to the grave,” he says.

While there’s no doubt Dominique was the conductor in this depraved orchestra of abuse, 50 other men were also found guilty of raping or sexually assaulting Gisele.

Around nine men are appealing but the case has forced France to look at its rape culture.

Inspired by Gisele’s bravery in waiving her anonymity and allowing images of herself being raped to be shown in open court, tens of thousands of people joined demonstrations against sexual violence around the country.

Many held photos or drawings of Gisele.

Her courage has seen her named as one of Time Magazine’s women of the year, while a bold sketch of her with the words “No more shame” was emblazoned on the cover of German Vogue.

I ask David how he sees the woman who has become an icon for many?

“First and foremost, she’s our mum. She’s also our children’s grandmother, but today, and for the rest of her life, she’ll be a heroine,” he says.

For all the strength and dignity Gisele and her children have shown, it’s unclear if they will ever be able to heal from the damage inflicted upon them.

David explains his mother is trying to slowly rebuild herself but acknowledges that the family endured “unspeakable pain” throughout the trial.

“We must continue to live, give meaning to our lives and not forget that in the world, there are other women who cannot speak and who absolutely must be helped,” he says.

At the end of the interview, he asks our all-female team how we think toxic masculinity and rape culture can be tackled.

He listens intently to our responses and is clearly passionate about trying to find ways to educate young men and help build a safer society for women.

He is impatiently waiting for the government to change the law around sexual consent.

He has seen the darkest side of humanity and is desperately seeking the light.

He says he found it in the crowds of cheering women who came to support his mother at court, crying with joy when the verdicts were read out.

The case exposed unrepentant evil but also “gave immense hope to all women who suffer sexual violence,” David concludes. “Not only bad came from this case. There was also a lot of positivity; today people are free to speak out.”

Hundreds of thousands of protesters filled Istanbul’s streets on Sunday for a fifth night of protest against the arrest of the Turkish president’s main rival.

Ekrem Imamoglu, the mayor of Istanbul, was detained on Wednesday and formally arrested and jailed pending trial over corruption charges earlier today.

Police used pepper spray and fired rubber bullets into the crowd that gathered outside Istanbul’s city hall.

Reporting from Istanbul on Sunday evening, Sky News’ special correspondent Alex Crawford described the protests as “relatively peaceful” but said they were “the biggest protests Turkey has seen in more than a decade”.

The huge demonstrations have continued despite a ban on gatherings in Istanbul imposed this week – but many protesters hid their faces with masks.

Most protesters did not want to speak on camera as they were scared of being recognised, Crawford said, but “they feel their democracy is being eroded”.

She said questions remained over how long authorities would allow these protests to continue – and whether they will escalate into a real crisis for Turkey’s president Recep Tayyip Erdogan.

The protests intensified after Mr Imamoglu was charged on Sunday with running a criminal organisation, accepting bribes, extortion, illegally recording personal data and bid-rigging. A request to detain Mr Imamoglu on terror-related charges was denied.

Following the ruling, he was transferred to Silivri prison, west of Istanbul.

Mr Imamoglu has labelled all of the claims “unimaginable accusations and slanders”.

Many viewed his detention as a political move to remove him from the 2028 presidential race – deepening concerns over the country’s democracy and the rule of law.

The Turkish government denies Mr Imamoglu’s arrest was politically motivated and says the courts are independent.

Mr Erdogan has served as Turkey’s president since his Justice and Development Party (AKP) came to power in 2003.

Its biggest opponent in the next election looks set to be the Republican People’s Party (CHP), which this weekend began holding a primary presidential election to endorse Mr Imamoglu, their only presidential candidate.

The party also set up solidarity boxes where non-members could show their support – and at the time of tonight’s protest, more than 13 million had done so, according to the CHP.

In a post on social media, Mr Imamoglu praised the result, saying the people had told Mr Erdogan: “Enough is enough.”

“That ballot box will arrive and the nation will deliver a slap to the administration it will never forget,” he said.

More from Sky News:
Pope returns home
Canadian PM calls snap election

Mr Imamoglu – who could be prevented from running for president if he is convicted – was one of 48 people jailed pending trial this weekend. The others being held include a key aide and two Istanbul district mayors.

While this week’s protests have largely been peaceful, there has been some violence in Istanbul, as well as other cities including Ankara and Izmir.

Clashes have seen police deploy water canons, tear gas and pepper spray at protestors, some of whom threw stones and fireworks at riot officers.

Turkey’s interior minister said 323 people were detained on Saturday evening over disturbances at protests.

Pope Francis is to be released from hospital tomorrow after receiving treatment for double pneumonia, but doctors insist he will also need at least two months of rest.

The 88-year-old pontiff has been at Gemelli Hospital in Rome for more than five weeks since being admitted for a severe respiratory infection on 14 February.

Dr Sergio Alfieri, the head of the team taking care of the Pope, told reporters: “Tomorrow [Sunday] the Holy Father will be discharged, that means he will return to the Santa Marta [his residence within the Vatican]”.

“During his hospitalisation, his clinical conditions presented very critical episodes, during which the Holy Father was in danger of losing his life.”

Dr Alfieri said the pontiff was now in a “stable clinical condition” but he would continue taking medication orally “for quite a long time”.

“It’s very important that he follow a period of convalescence and rest for at least two months,” he added.

The Vatican previously said he would appear from the window of his 10th floor hospital room on Sunday to offer a blessing.

A photo released by the Vatican last week showed the leader of the Catholic church celebrating Sunday mass in a hospital chapel.

The Vatican said in a statement that Pope Francis wanted to come to the hospital window around noon (11am UK time) on Sunday to give a greeting and blessing.

One senior cardinal said on Friday it could take time for the Pope to “relearn to speak” after using oxygen during his hospital stay.

Dr Sergio Alfieri addressed this, during a news conference on Saturday, pointing out that when someone has double pneumonia “the lungs are damaged”.

“They [lungs] have been damaged and breathing muscles have been strained. One of the first things that happens is that our voice diminishes… like when you use your voice too much”. But he insisted that, in time, the voice would return to normal.

Read more from Sky News:
King and Queen due to meet Pope
Pope records message from hospital

Despite the Pope’s discharge from hospital, there has been no update about his plans to meet the King and Queen.

They are due to make a state visit to the Vatican on 8 April.

But doctors confirmed on Saturday they had prescribed two months of convalescence and had advised him against taking any meetings with large groups or that take special effort.

Doctors at the facility recently said he is no longer in a critical condition – having been diagnosed with a complex bacterial, viral and fungal respiratory tract infection and then double pneumonia.

It marks the most serious health crisis of his 12-year papacy and the longest he has been out of public view since his election as pontiff in 2013.