Gisele Pelicot’s son relives moment he discovered his father was a monster
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.
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How the Pelicot trial unfolded
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.
Gisele Pelicot arriving in court on the day of the verdicts. Pic: Reuters
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
David (left) and his brother Florian (centre) with their mother Gisele during their father’s trial. Pic: Reuters
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.
David Pelicot tells Sky News’ Siobhan Robbins his family has suffered ‘unspeakable pain’
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.
A sketch of Dominique Pelicot during the trial last year. Pic: Reuters
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.”
David and his sister Caroline Darian, who has accused their father of raping her. Pic: Reuters
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.
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The men convicted of raping Gisele Pelicot
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.
People holding placards as they gather in support of Gisele Pelicot outside court. Pic: Reuters
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.
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‘I never regretted waiving anonymity’, says Gisele Pelicot
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
Ukraine and Russia agree to US-brokered Black Sea ceasefire – but Zelenskyy says Moscow already playing games
Ukraine and Russia have agreed to a tentative ceasefire involving the Black Sea and strikes on energy infrastructure.
It comes after US officials met Russian and Ukrainian delegations separately in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.
The agreement could be a first step towards a potential wider ceasefire, but experts caution it won’t change much on the ground in Ukraine.
War latest: Ukraine and Russia appear to disagree on ceasefire timing
Defence minister Rustem Umerov said Ukraine had agreed to “ensure safe navigation, eliminate the use of force, and prevent the use of commercial vessels for military purposes”.
However, Russia claimed it depended on Western sanctions being lifted on fertiliser and food companies and ensuring its access to the SWIFT payments system.
President Zelenskyy said he believed the truce was effective immediately and accused Moscow of playing games.
“Unfortunately, even now, even today, on the very day of negotiations, we see how the Russians have already begun to manipulate,” he said.
“They are already trying to distort agreements and, in fact, deceive both our intermediaries and the entire world.”
Mr Zelenskyy said Russia was already manipulating over the deal. Pic: Reuters
A White House statement said the US would help “restore Russia’s access to the world market for agricultural and fertiliser exports”.
President Trump said his administration was “looking into” Russia’s request to lift sanctions.
A senior official in the Ukrainian government, speaking anonymously to the AP news agency, said Kyiv did not agree to lifting sanctions as a condition for a maritime ceasefire.
They said Russia had done nothing to have sanctions reversed.
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Child killed in Russian drone strike on Kyiv
While uncertainty remains over the terms of the Black Sea truce, the Kremlin confirmed it would honour a ceasefire on attacking energy facilities until 17 April.
It said oil refineries, pipelines, power plants and substations, nuclear power plants and hydroelectric dams were all covered by the deal.
It added: “In the event of a violation of the moratorium by one of the parties, the other party has the right to consider itself free from obligations to comply with it.”
Sky News security analyst Michael Clarke said the Black Sea deal was something the US “can boast about” but won’t massively change anything on the ground in Ukraine.
“The Russians will be quite happy about that because they’ll just keep going down more and more rabbit holes,” he said.
“Unless the Americans are prepared to pressure Russia as opposed to just keeping offering them more advantages, the war will just go on,” added Professor Clarke.
Read more:
Moments that shaped Trump-Zelenskyy relationship
Ukraine war Q&A
Earlier in March, President Zelenskyy said he was ready for a 30-day ceasefire that would also include “the entire front line”.
American secretary of state Marco Rubio said the ball was “in Russia’s court” but President Putin has declined to follow suit and named multiple pre-conditions.
Speaking to Mr Trump on the phone last week, he said any long-term deal would require a complete halt to intelligence sharing and military aid to Ukraine.
Donald Trump has been urged to fire US Secretary of Defence Pete Hegseth following the leak of highly sensitive war plans – as national security adviser Mike Waltz said he took “full responsibility” for organising the group chat.
The conversation on the messaging app Signal between US officials, including vice president JD Vance and Mr Hegseth, was leaked to American journalist Jeffrey Goldberg, who was added to the chat in error.
They discussed plans to conduct airstrikes on Yemen’s Iran-backed Houthis, which took place on 15 March.
Latest: White House deflecting from scandal
Mr Waltz – who had mistakenly added Mr Goldberg to the Signal discussion – said: “I take full responsibility…I built the group.”
Democratic congressman Hakeem Jeffries, minority leader of the US House of Representatives, described Mr Hegseth as “the most unqualified Secretary of Defence in American history” and called for him to be sacked.
“His continued presence in the top position of leadership at the Pentagon threatens the nation’s security and puts our brave men and women in uniform throughout the world in danger,” he wrote.
“His behaviour shocks the conscience, risked American lives and likely violated the law.
“Secretary of Defence Pete Hegseth should be fired immediately.”
The president has defended national security adviser Mike Waltz. Pic: Reuters
Speaking from the White House, Mr Trump downplayed the incident and said he believed the chat contained “no classified information”.
“They were using an app, as I understand it, that a lot of people in government use, a lot of people in the media use,” he told reporters.
Trump expressed support for Mr Waltz, telling NBC News his national security adviser “has learned a lesson, and he’s a good man”.
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How serious is US chat breach?
The US president said officials would “probably” not use Signal any longer but did not agree to a full investigation of what Democrats have called a major security breach which required high-level resignations.
Included in the conversation on Signal were Mr Vance, Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Mr Hegseth.
Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard and CIA director John Ratcliffe – who were both also in the chat – testified before the Senate Intelligence Committee on Tuesday that no classified material was shared.
Tulsi Gabbard and John Ratcliffe were under pressure as the Senate Intelligence Committee challenged them about the leak. Pic: Reuters
But Democratic senators have voiced scepticism, noting that the journalist, The Atlantic editor-in-chief Jeffrey Goldberg, reported Mr Hegseth posted operational details “including information about targets, weapons the US would be deploying, and attack sequencing”.
Republican majority leader, John Thune, said on Tuesday he expected the Senate Armed Services Committee to look into Trump administration officials’ use of Signal.
Read more from Sky News:
UK still confident over US intelligence sharing
What was said in Trump officials’ group chat
What is Signal? And is it really secure?
Meanwhile, the White House has mostly attacked the journalist responsible for the original story instead of admitting culpability. The integrity of Mr Goldberg has been repeatedly called into question.
Posting on X, White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt accused Mr Goldberg of sensationalising the story, and White House communications director Steven Cheung called the media coverage of the security breach a “witch hunt”.
Group chat gaffe wouldn’t happen in UK
If a British defence minister was found to have shared details about a live military operation in an unofficial messaging group with colleagues, they would be sacked.
That President Donald Trump has tried to dismiss the revelation that his top defence and security team not only did just that but accidentally included a journalist in the chat will be watched with deepening horror by US allies and growing glee by American enemies.
In public, the UK government is still insisting security ties with the US are as strong as ever.
But in private there will doubtless be horror – though perhaps not surprise – within Whitehall at this extraordinary lapse in the most basic operational security by the president’s national security adviser, defence secretary, national intelligence chief and even the boss of the CIA.
Any information about plans to – for example – launch bombing raids against Iranian-backed Houthi militants in Yemen would ordinarily only be shared on specially designated government systems that ensure classified information is secure.
The fact that Mike Waltz, the national security adviser, felt it was acceptable to set up a group on the commercial messaging app Signal – which does provide encryption but is only as secure as the device that it is being used on (so not secure at all if a mobile phone or laptop is compromised) – to discuss plans to attack the Houthis is bad enough.
Read more from Deborah here
The Atlantic has hit back, dismissing those claims. “Attempts to disparage and discredit The Atlantic, our editor, and our reporting follow an obvious playbook by elected officials and others in power who are hostile to journalists and the First Amendment rights of all Americans,” it said in a statement.
Mr Hegseth told reporters on Monday no one had texted war plans – prompting Mr Goldberg to call those comments a lie during an interview on CNN.
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It remains unclear why the officials chose to chat via Signal instead of secure government channels typically used for sensitive discussions.
The Pentagon reportedly warned of a known vulnerability on the Signal chat app, in an email sent out prior to the publication of The Atlantic article, according to reports by Sky News’ US partner network NBC News.
The email reported: “Russia-aligned threat groups are actively targeting the Signal Messenger application of individuals likely to exchange sensitive military and government communications related to the war in Ukraine”.
Employees were told the vulnerability could be mitigated by updating to the latest version of the app and applying proper settings.
Words. Lots of them.
Two statements from the White House – one about negotiations with Ukraine, another about negotiations with Russia.
A version from Ukraine’s president and another from the Kremlin.
Follow live: Black Sea ceasefire deal reached after Saudi talks
Analysing the substance of the US-brokered agreement between Russia and Ukraine requires a sifting of the spin from all sides.
The read-outs from the White House are almost word-for-word, basically just swapping out the names of each country and each president.
But there are notable differences between Ukraine’s take and Russia’s take on what they each signed up to.
Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskyy focuses on the potential involvement of third countries to support the implementation of the agreements.
We know he does not trust Vladimir Putin, but it sounds like he doesn’t trust Donald Trump either.
Mr Zelenskyy speaks to reporters after news of the limited ceasefire broke. Pic: Reuters
The Kremlin, on the other hand, focuses on the lifting of sanctions against companies exporting food and fertiliser.
In fact, Moscow says those sanctions must go before any ceasefire begins.
If that’s what Moscow expects, there is one big winner: Mr Putin.
Explainer: What is in the Black Sea ceasefire deal
A Ukrainian patrol boat in the Black Sea in 2024. Pics: Reuters
Ceasefires around energy infrastructure and in the Black Sea are progress, but not the peace Mr Trump promised, and at what price?
The man who said he would end the war within a day of taking office won’t win the Nobel Peace Prize for this.
Asked how the ceasefire would be monitored, Mr Trump replied: “Well, they’re going to get together.
“… there’s tremendous animosity, there’s a lot of hatred you can probably tell, and it allows for people to get together, mediate it, arbitrate it, and see if we can get it stopped, and I think it will.”
More words, but ultimately it comes down to actions – the extent to which ceasefires are observed.
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