In a shocking case that has horrified France, a 72-year-old woman, Gisèle Pélicot, bravely appeared in court to face 51 men accused of sexually assaulting her while she was unconscious, drugged by her own husband. Gisèle, determined to bring the horrific events to light, waived her right to anonymity and insisted that her trial remain public to ensure “this never happens again.”
Gisèle’s husband of nearly 50 years, Dominique Pélicot, a 71-year-old retired electricity worker, is charged with facilitating the assaults. He allegedly invited men to abuse his wife through a now-banned website section called “a son insu” (without her knowledge). Over a decade, police documented 92 rapes committed by 72 men, 51 of whom were formally identified, according to The Daily Mail.
According to her lawyers, Gisèle was heavily sedated with date rape drugs during the attacks, leaving her with “no recollection” of the abuse that occurred at their home in Mazan, Provence. The couple’s large house, complete with a swimming pool, became the scene of these repeated crimes, which Gisèle remained unaware of until police uncovered the truth.
Despite calls from defense lawyers and the prosecuting magistrate for a closed trial—citing concerns over the disturbing footage that would be shown and the potential harm to the dignity of those involved—Gisèle insisted on a public trial. Her lawyer, Antoine Camus, explained her reasoning: “That’s what her attackers would have wanted.” Gisèle is resolute in confronting her husband and the men who violated her, saying, “He disgusts me, I feel dirty, soiled, betrayed. It’s a tsunami, I’ve been hit by a high-speed train.”
Before the police uncovered the abuse, Gisèle had believed her husband to be a “kind and caring” father and grandfather. The revelation has devastated her, and she has since begun divorce proceedings. Another of her lawyers, Stephane Babonneau, noted, “She was dreading this moment but is relieved that the hearing is open and that she will not be locked up for four months with her assailants. She wants to raise awareness as widely as possible about date rape drugs so that this never happens again.”
Gisèle arrived at the Vaucluse Criminal Court in Avignon on Monday, supported by her three children, including her daughter Caroline Darian, who has written a book inspired by the case titled And I Stopped Calling You Daddy. Outside the courthouse, protesters from feminist groups Les Amazones d’Avignon and Osez le féminisme 84 chanted in solidarity: “Rapists, we see you, victims, we believe you.”
Dominique Pélicot, appearing as a white-haired retiree in a black T-shirt, simply confirmed his address, stating to the judge, “You know my home, it’s prison.” The 51 defendants, aged 21 to 68 at the time of the alleged rapes, come from various walks of life, including professions such as a fireman, lorry driver, and journalist. The abuse, meticulously documented by Dominique, continued from 2011 until his arrest in 2020.
Police began investigating Dominique after he was caught secretly filming under women’s skirts in a shopping center. A subsequent search of his computer revealed thousands of photos and videos of Gisèle, unconscious, documenting the sexual acts he orchestrated and recorded over nearly a decade.