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

Published

2 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

At least 100 people killed in Israeli strikes on Gaza – ‘complete families wiped out’ says health ministry

Published

2 hours ago

May 18, 2025

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At least 100 people killed in Israeli strikes on Gaza - 'complete families wiped out' says health ministry

At least 100 people have been killed in Israeli strikes on Gaza overnight and into Sunday, according to Gaza’s health ministry.

Local medics also report that women and children were among the dead – as Israel launches an escalation of its war in Gaza to ramp up pressure on Hamas.

“Complete families were wiped off the civil registration record by Israeli bombardment,” Khalil Al-Deqran, Gaza health ministry spokesperson, told the Reuters news agency.

Nasser hospital, in the southern city of Khan Younis, said it received the bodies of 20 people killed in strikes that hit houses and tents in the Muwasi area. Hamas described that as a “new brutal crime”.

In central Gaza, at least 10 people were killed in two separate strikes, according to the Al-Aqsa Martyrs hospital in the town of Deir al Balah.

Meanwhile, first responders from the health ministry and the civil defence reported at least 36 people were killed in multiple strikes in Jabalia, northern Gaza.

The Israeli military had no immediate comment on the latest strikes.

Israel has blocked the entry of medical, food and fuel supplies into Gaza since the start of March. It is attempting to pressurise Hamas into freeing Israeli hostages and has approved plans that could involve seizing the whole of Gaza and controlling aid.

It comes as peace talks between Israel and Hamas take place in Qatar this weekend, although sources told Reuters there had been no breakthrough.

Sky News Arabia reported that Hamas had proposed freeing about half its Israeli hostages in exchange for a two-month ceasefire and the release of Palestinian prisoners held by Israel.

A Palestinian official close to the talks said: “Hamas is flexible about the number of hostages it can free, but the problem has always been over Israel’s commitment to end the war.”

Earlier on Sunday, Gaza’s health ministry issued a statement accusing Israel of “intensifying its systematic campaign to target hospitals”.

“After putting the European Gaza Hospital out of service a few days ago, the Israeli occupation has intensified its targeting and siege of the Indonesian Hospital in the northern Gaza Strip since dawn today,” it added.

Israel has previously denied deliberately targeting civilians and accused Hamas of using hospitals for military purposes.

This week, Israel said it had bombed the European Hospital because it was home to an underground Hamas base, but Sky News analysis has cast doubt on its evidence.

Separately, the Israeli military said on Sunday it had intercepted a missile launched from Yemen toward Israel.

Yemen’s Iran-aligned Houthis said they had targeted Ben Gurion Airport near Tel Aviv with two ballistic missiles.

The Houthis have fired at Israel because of the plight of Palestinians in Gaza, while Israel has carried out airstrikes in response, including one on 6 May that damaged Yemen’s main airport in Sanaa and killed several people.

The conflict began on 7 October 2023, when Hamas-led militants attacked southern Israel, killing 1,200 people and abducting 251 others.

Israel’s military response has seen the deaths of more than 53,000 people, according to the Hamas-run health ministry in Gaza, which doesn’t differentiate between civilians and combatants.

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World

Donald Trump says he has call with Putin planned – as Ukraine condemns Russia over bus attack

Published

11 hours ago

May 18, 2025

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Donald Trump says he has call with Putin planned - as Ukraine condemns Russia over bus attack

Donald Trump has said he will speak to Vladimir Putin and Volodymyr Zelenskyy separately on Monday in a bid to secure a ceasefire deal between Russia and Ukraine.

The US president made the announcement on Truth Social – shortly after the Ukrainian president condemned Russia for the “deliberate killing of civilians” after a drone hit a bus in north-eastern Ukraine.

Mr Trump said he will speak to Mr Putin over the phone. He will then talk with Mr Zelenskyy and “various members of NATO”, he wrote.

In an all-caps post, he said: “HOPEFULLY IT WILL BE A PRODUCTIVE DAY, A CEASEFIRE WILL TAKE PLACE, AND THIS VERY VIOLENT WAR, A WAR THAT SHOULD HAVE NEVER HAPPENED, WILL END. GOD BLESS US ALL!!!”

The Ukrainian town of Bilopillia today declared a period of mourning lasting until Monday after nine people were killed in a Russian drone attack – which occurred just hours after Kyiv and Moscow held peace talks.

Seven others were injured, Ukrainian authorities said. The bus was evacuating civilians from a frontline area when the drone hit, the country’s national police said.

A “father, mother and daughter” were among the dead, Mr Zelenskyy said, writing on Telegram: “All the deceased were civilians. And the Russians could not have failed to understand what kind of vehicle they were targeting.”

The attack has also been condemned by British Foreign Secretary David Lammy, who said he was “appalled”.

“If Putin is serious about peace, Russia must agree to a full and immediate ceasefire, as Ukraine has done,” he wrote on X.

Representatives for Kyiv and Moscow met for direct peace talks in Istanbul, Turkey, just hours before the drone attack.

While the discussions – which were not attended by the Mr Putin or Mr Zelenskyy – did not result in a truce, both countries agreed to exchange 1,000 prisoners in their biggest swap yet.

Ukraine’s intelligence chief, Kyrylo Budanov, said on national television the exchange could happen as early as next week.

Russia ‘threatened eternal war’ at peace talks

After a Ukrainian official yesterday said Russia made “unacceptable” demands during the discussions, a source from the Kyiv delegation has now told Sky News that Moscow threatened “eternal war”.

Separately, a senior Kyiv official said Russia’s proposed ceasefire terms included the full withdrawal of troops from four regions of Ukraine: Donetsk, Zaporizhzhia, Kherson and Luhansk.

Moscow also called for international recognition that those regions and Crimea – annexed in 2014 – are Russian and for Ukraine to become a neutral state, with no allied troops stationed there, they said.

The Kremlin declined to comment on the matter.

Ukraine has rallied support from its allies following the talks, and a number have spoken out.

French President Emmanuel Macron said: “Today, what do we have? Nothing. And so I tell you, faced with President Putin’s cynicism, I am sure that President Trump, mindful of the credibility of the United States, will react.”

The EU is working on a new package of sanctions against Moscow, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said.

World

Israel and Hamas resume ceasefire talks after ‘extensive strikes’ on Gaza

Published

14 hours ago

May 17, 2025

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Israel and Hamas resume ceasefire talks after 'extensive strikes' on Gaza

Israel and Hamas said ceasefire talks have resumed in Qatar – even as Israeli forces ramped up a bombing campaign and mobilised for a massive new ground assault.

Earlier, the Israeli military said it had been “conducting extensive strikes and mobilising troops” as part of preparations to expand operations in Gaza.

Israel’s defence minister Israel Katz said Hamas had “refused to discuss negotiations without a cessation of the war”, but after the airstrikes and the mobilisation of forces the militant group’s representatives “have agreed to sit in a room and seriously discuss the deal”.

“Israel emphasises that if the talks do not progress, the [military] operation will continue,” he added.

A Hamas source told Sky News that ceasefire talks began in Doha on Saturday morning.

Hamas official Taher al-Nono told Reuters news agency that the two sides were involved in discussions without “pre-conditions”.

He added Hamas was “keen to exert all the effort needed” to help mediators make the negotiations a success.

More than 150 people have been killed in Israeli strikes in the last 24 hours, according to the Hamas-run health ministry in Gaza.

This week has been one of the deadliest phases of bombardment since a truce collapsed in March and marked a significant escalation in Israel’s offensive.

The Israeli military’s preparations to expand operations in Gaza have included the build-up of tanks and troops along the border.

It is part of “Operation Gideon Chariot”, which Israel says is aimed at defeating Hamas and getting its hostages back.

An Israeli defence official said earlier this month that the operation would not be launched before Donald Trump concluded his visit to the Middle East.

The US president ended his trip on Friday, with no apparent progress towards a new peace deal.

Meanwhile, on Saturday, leaders at the annual summit of the Arab League in Baghdad said they were trying to reach a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas in Gaza.

They also promised to contribute to the reconstruction of the territory once the war stops.

The meeting comes two months after Israel ended a ceasefire reached with the Hamas militant group.

Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on 5 May that Israel was planning an expanded, intensive offensive against Hamas as his security cabinet approved plans that could involve seizing Gaza and controlling aid.

This week, Israel said it had bombed the European Hospital because it was home to an underground Hamas base, but Sky News analysis has cast doubt on its evidence.

Israel’s goal is the elimination of Hamas, which attacked southern Israel on 7 October 2023, killing around 1,200 people and seizing about 250 hostages.

Its military response has killed more than 53,000 people, according to the Hamas-run health ministry in Gaza, which does not differentiate between civilians and combatants.