Warning: This story contains disturbing details from the beginning.
Dominique Pelicot, the 71-year-old man accused of drugging his wife to sleep and recruiting dozens of men to abuse her for more than 10 years, has admitted all the charges against him in his first testimony since the trial opened on September 2.
Referring to the 50 co-defendants who are accused of raping his now ex-wife Gisèle, Mr Pelicot said: “I am a rapist like the others in this room.”
“Everybody knew, they can’t say otherwise,” he said. Only 15 of the 50 defendants admitted to rape, with most saying they only participated in sexual acts.
Of his ex-wife, Mr Pelicot said: “She didn’t deserve this.”
“I was very happy with her,” he told the court.
Gisèle, who was given the opportunity to answer shortly after, said: “It is difficult for me to hear this. For 50 years, I have lived with a man who I never imagined could be capable of this. I trust in him. completely.”
Although cameras are not allowed in court, the trial is open to the public at the request of Gisèle Pelicot, who waived her right to anonymity at the beginning of the proceedings. His legal team said opening the trial would transfer “shame” back to the accused.
Mr Pelicot, who is a father and grandfather, began his testimony by telling the court about his traumatic childhood experiences and said he was abused by a male nurse when he was nine.
Asked about his marriage to Gisèle, Mr. Pelicot said he considered suicide when he discovered she was having an affair.
Throughout his testimony on Tuesday morning, Mr. Pelicot repeatedly assured the court that he never “hated” his wife and was in fact “crazy about (her) … I loved her immensely and always will “.
“I loved her good for 40 years and bad for 10,” he added, apparently referring to the decade during which he drugged and abused her.
He was also asked about the thousands of videos he took of men abusing their unconscious wives. These were found by the investigator and were instrumental in tracking the 50 men who are now accused of rape.
Mr Pelicot admitted that he had filmed the men partly for “pleasure”, but also “as insurance, since today, it is thanks to (the videos) that we were able to find the people who participated in this “.
Mr. Pelicot was then questioned by Stéphane Babonneau, one of Gisèle’s lawyers, who asked him why he had been unable to find the will to stop abusing her, even when she began to present medical problems. In earlier sessions of the trial, Gisèle said she was worried she might develop Alzheimer’s or a brain tumor because of hair and weight loss and large memory gaps. These were, in fact, side effects of the drugs her husband was giving her.
“I tried to stop, but my addiction was stronger, the need grew,” he said.
“I tried to reassure him, I betrayed his trust. I should have stopped earlier, in fact I should never have started at all.”
Mr Pelicot is also accused of drugging and abusing his daughter, Caroline, after semi-nude photos of her were found on his laptop. He previously denied this and on Tuesday also claimed that he had never touched his grandchildren. “I can look my family in the eye and tell them nothing else happened,” he said.
Mr Pelicot also said he “became perverted” when, in 2010, he met a male nurse on the Internet who suggested drugging his wife with a sedative, explained how he administered it and shared photos of drugged women. “That’s when everything clicked,” Mr. Pelicot said. “It all started then.”
Béatrice Zavarro, Mr Pelicot’s lawyer, told French TV that she did not know what people thought of her client, but that he was “sharing his truth”.
He added that Mr. Pelicot was “very distressed” and that, although he did not know what his wife would make of his request for forgiveness, “the confession is now in progress and will continue.”
She said: “We have reached the end of this process and we know everything about Dominique Pelicot.”
Mr Pelicot, who has been diagnosed with a kidney infection and kidney stones, was absent from court for almost a week due to illness. He is willing to give his testimony throughout the day, although he will be allowed to take frequent breaks.