Gisele Pelicot’s son relives moment he discovered his father was a monster

Published

8 months ago

March 24, 2025

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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.”

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.”

World

Venezuela accuses Trump of ‘colonial threat’ after US president ‘closes’ its airspace

Published

5 hours ago

November 30, 2025

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Venezuela accuses Trump of 'colonial threat' after US president 'closes' its airspace

Venezuela has accused Donald Trump of a “colonial threat” after he said the airspace “above and surrounding” the country should be considered closed “in its entirety”.

Mr Trump made the declaration amid growing tensions with President Maduro – and as the US continues attacking boats it claims are carrying drugs from Venezuela.

He wrote on Truth Social: “To all Airlines, Pilots, Drug Dealers, and Human Traffickers, please consider THE AIRSPACE ABOVE AND SURROUNDING VENEZUELA TO BE CLOSED IN ITS ENTIRETY.”

Venezuela’s foreign affairs office called it a “colonial threat” and “illegal, and unjustified aggression”.

It accused the president of threatening “the sovereignty of the national airspace… and the full sovereignty of the Venezuelan state”.

President Trump’s words were part of a “permanent policy of aggression against our country” that breached international law and the UN Charter, it added.

The Pentagon and the White House have so far not given any additional detail on the president’s statement.

Mr Trump’s post comes after the American aviation regulator last week warned of a “potentially hazardous situation” over Venezuela due to a “worsening security situation”.

The South American nation revoked operating rights for six major airlines that went on to suspend flights to the country.

Mr Trump warned a few days ago that land operations against suspected Venezuelan drug traffickers would begin “very soon”.

Such a move would be a major escalation in Operation Southern Spear – the US naval deployment in the Caribbean Sea and eastern Pacific that’s so far attacked at least 21 vessels.

Venezuela has said the attacks, which have killed more than 80 people, amount to murder.

The US has released videos of boats being targeted, but hasn’t provided evidence – such as photos of their cargo – to support the smuggling claims.

The Pentagon has sought to justify the strikes by labelling the drug gangs as “foreign terrorist organisations” – putting them on par with the likes of al Qaeda.

It claims the boats targeted are carrying drugs bound for the US, although Sky’s chief correspondent says the final destination is likely to be Europe and West Africa.

President Maduro has denied Mr Trump’s claims he is involved in the drugs trade himself and said his counterpart wants to oust him so he can install a more sympathetic government.

Venezuelan officials have also claimed Mr Trump’s true motivation is access to the country’s plentiful oil reserves.

Mr Maduro is widely considered a dictator who’s cheated elections and has been president since 2013.

World

Ukrainian officials head to US for peace talks – while dramatic footage shows Russian oil tankers being hit

Published

8 hours ago

November 30, 2025

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Ukrainian officials head to US for peace talks - while dramatic footage shows Russian oil tankers being hit

Ukraine’s representatives are preparing for renewed peace talks in the US, while dramatic footage has shown Russian tankers being hit by naval drones.

President Zelenskyy said a delegation headed by national security chief Rustem Umerov was on its way to “swiftly and substantively work out the steps needed to end the war”.

They are due to be greeted by US secretary of state Marco Rubio, Donald Trump’s special envoy Steve Witkoff, and the US president’s son-in-law Jared Kushner, a senior US official told Reuters news agency.

After the US-Ukraine talks, an American delegation is expected to travel to Moscow to meet President Putin.

It comes after Mr Trump released a 28-point proposal last week that would hand swathes of land to Russia and limit the size of Kyiv’s military.

It was widely seen as heavily favouring Russia and led Mr Zelenskyy to swiftly engage with American negotiators.

President Trump said on Tuesday his plan had been “fine-tuned”.

In his evening address on Saturday, the Ukrainian leader said: “The American side is demonstrating a constructive approach, and in the coming days it is feasible to flesh out the steps to determine how to bring the war to a dignified end.”

Mr Zelenskyy’s team in the US is without his former chief of staff and lead negotiator, Andrii Yermak, as he quit on Friday after officials raided his home amid a corruption scandal.

Tankers hit by ‘Sea Baby’ drones

Ukrainian drones were shown hitting two of Russia‘s so-called “shadow fleet” oil tankers in the Black Sea in footage released on Saturday.

Friday’s attack was carried out by the country’s security service and its navy, an official told Reuters. They said both ships “sustained critical damage” that took them out of service.

A security source told Associated Press that domestically-made “Sea Baby” drones were used.

The tankers were under sanctions and heading to a Russian port to load up with oil destined for foreign markets, the official said.

They have been identified as the Kairos and Virat.

The 274m-long Kairos suffered an explosion and caught fire en route from Egypt to Russia on Friday, Turkey’s transport ministry said. The crew was evacuated.

The Virat was reportedly struck about 35 nautical miles offshore.

It was attacked by unmanned vessels and sustained minor damage to its starboard side, the Turkish ministry said.

Russia deploys a fleet of often ageing, uninsured and unmarked tankers to circumvent sanctions on its oil exports, which continue to help pay for the Ukraine war.

Another Ukrainian attack halted operations at an oil terminal near the Russian port of Novorossiysk on Saturday.

Andriy Kovalenko, from Ukraine’s National Security and Defence Council, said special forces were responsible.

“Naval drones managed to destroy one of the three oil tanker berths of the Caspian Pipeline Consortium in the Novorossiysk area,” he wrote on Telegram.

Six killed in aerial attacks on Ukraine

Russia carried out another onslaught on the Ukrainian capital overnight into Saturday, firing 36 cruise and ballistic missiles and launching around 600 drones.

Officials said three people were killed in and around Kyiv, two in the Dnipropetrovsk region and one in a midday attack in Kherson region in the south.

Mayor Vitali Klitschko said 29 others were injured in Kyiv, largely due to falling debris from intercepted drones hitting buildings.

The attacks also hit Ukrainian energy facilities and left hundreds of thousands without power in the capital. Supplies have since been restored.

Targeting such infrastructure has become a familiar tactic from Russia over the winter, in what Ukraine officials say is the “weaponising” of the cold.

World

Hong Kong mourns those lost to fire as investigators search for remains

Published

17 hours ago

November 29, 2025

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Hong Kong mourns those lost to fire as investigators search for remains

Grief was not lonely today in Hong Kong. Three days after the worst fire in the history of modern Hong Kong, it feels as though it has barely sunk in.

The weekend at least lent them time to pay tribute, and gave them some space to reflect.

People came in droves to lay flowers, so many a queuing system was needed.

Official books of condolences were also set up in multiple parts of the city.

It was the first day large teams of investigators were able to enter the site. Dozens of them in hazmat suits were bused in, their work the grimmest of tasks.

Every so often you could see a flashlight peep through the window of an upper blackened window, a reminder that the fire services are still undertaking dangerous work.

But the reach of the authorities is ramping up here.

Yesterday a grass roots aid distribution centre was the vibrant heart of the response.

They received notice at 4am that they needed to pack up and move on. By 10.30am, the mountains of donations were gone, residents watched on, bewildered.

The task apparently will be handed over to professional NGOs.

“I think the government’s biggest concern is due to some past incidents,” one organiser tells us. “They may liken this to previous events. The essence looks similar.”

She’s careful with her words, but she’s clearly hinting at major pro-democracy protests that were crushed by authorities in 2019.

Any sort of mass gathering is now seen as a risk, the system is still very nervous.

And they might well be because people here are angry.

What, they ask, did the government know? What did it choose to ignore?

Indeed, Sky News has learnt that residents raised their fears over fire safety connected to extensive renovations on Wang Fuk Court as early as September 2024.

They flagged the suspected flammability of green nets being used to cover the building.

An email response from the Labour Department was sent a few months later to Jason Poon, a civil engineer-turned-activist, who was working with residents. It insists that “the mesh’s flame retardant properties meet safety standards”.

But many clearly didn’t believe it. Posts spanning many months on a residents’ Facebook group continued to voice their fears.

When a much smaller fire broke out in the city last month, one resident posted: “All the materials outside are flammable, I feel really worried.”

“I feel that same way” another replied. “The government has no sense of concern.”

For Poon, who dedicates much of his time to fighting lax safety standards in Hong Kong’s construction industry, the whole experience has been devastating.

“They knew all the maintenance was using corner-cutting materials, but they didn’t do anything,” he says.

“This is a man-made disaster.”

We put these allegations to Hong Kong’s Labour Department but they have not yet responded to our request for comment.

Grief may still be the prominent force here, but anger is not that far behind.