CONTENT WARNING: This article discusses rape.
The 50 men accused of raping French woman Gisele Pelicot for almost a decade are beginning to take the stand in the trial that shook the world, and their excuses are equally horrific.
In court last week, Dominique Pelicot admitted to drugging his wife and recruiting strangers to rape her while he photographed and filmed it over a nine-year period between 2011 and 2020.
“I am a rapist just like all the others in this room … I ask my wife, my children, my grandchildren to accept my apologies. I regret what I did,” he said, according to French media.
His then-wife was completely unaware of the abuse, despite having suffered inexplicable memory loss and gynecological issues. She only found out about the abuse when police discovered 300 photographs and a video of the crimes on her husband’s laptop.
Gisele has bravely waived her right to anonymity in order to “take back control” of her life and raise awareness for sexual assault, rape and drugging victims.
What the men accused of raping Gisele Pelicot said in court:
As part of the ongoing trial, the other men accused of participating in the abuse have begun taking the stand. The defendants will appear before a small panel of judges between now and December.
Here is what we know so far.
“I am a rapist just like all the others in this room”
The first defendant to speak was Gisele’s own ex-husband and the mastermind behind the nine-year ordeal. He was willing to “admit to the charges in their entirety” and begged for forgiveness.
“I am a rapist just like all the others in this room … I ask my wife, my children, my grandchildren to accept my apologies. I regret what I did,” he said, according to French media.
“I ask for your forgiveness, even if it is not forgivable.”
“I am guilty of rape”
The first defendant outside of Dominique Pelicot took to the stand on September 19, also admitting guilt. 44-year-old supermarket worker Lionel R went to the Pelicot household in December 2018.
He told the court that he “never told myself: ‘I will rape that woman,’” but has since realised he is “guilty of rape.”
“Since I never obtained Mrs Pelicot’s consent, I have no choice but to accept the facts,” Lionel said.
He also offered an apology to Gisele.
“I am sorry, I can only imagine the nightmare you’ve lived through … and I am part of this nightmare. I know my apologies won’t change what happened, but I wanted to tell you that.”
While he admitted his own wrongdoing, he deflected some of the blame back onto Dominique.
“If I had known she wasn’t aware [of what would happen], I wouldn’t have gone there,” he said. “I should have checked that she was okay with it. I didn’t talk to her, so I could not get her consent. I feel guilty for what I did.”
He noted that he “didn’t ask myself too many questions”, noting that this was his “first huge error.”
One defendant missed the birth of his own child while allegedly raping Gisele
Then-22-year-old Joan K was the youngest alleged perpetrator at the time of the assaults. He is accused of sexually assaulting Gisele on two separate occasions.
According to a psychological profiler, he missed the birth of his own daughter during one of the two times he allegedly assaulted Pelicot in 2019.
He is expected to be heard at the end of the week.
I had “nothing else to do on New Year’s Eve”
37-year-old father of two Andy Rodriguez is accused of raping Gisele Pelicot on New Year’s Eve 2018. He admitted to having sex with her, but denies it was rape and assumed it was a “consenting scenario” between the Pelicots.
“I was in a bar once when a man approached me and said ‘My wife likes you, would you like to sleep with her while I watch?” he alleged.
“I agreed and it happened that same night, with Pelicot I met him New Year’s Eve as I had nothing else to do.
“I had fallen out with my brothers because of my drinking and drug habit so I went to Pelicot’s house.
“I never had any intention of raping Mrs Pelicot.”
“I don’t know if I was raped”
The ex-partner of another defendant, Hughues M, has told the court she is concerned she might have also been assaulted.
“I don’t know if I was raped,” Emilie O told the court.
“It’s terrible. I will always have doubts.”
She added that she was “manipulated and lived a lie” and is “still questioning everything” about her ex-partner.
She claims her life was turned upside down when police told her about the charges.
“I was summoned and told that Hugues had raped a woman in October 2019, a few days before my birthday,” she said.
“I didn’t believe them; I was stunned, shocked. I asked to see the photo and then I realised that it wasn’t a nightmare.”
Emilie O told the court she once woke up in the middle of the night in 2019 to find her partner attempting to assault her. At the time, she launched a police complaint but it was later dismissed for a “lack of material evidence”.
50 men aged between 26 and 74 stand accused of raping Gisele Pelicot between 2011 and 2020.
Help is available.
- If you require immediate assistance, please call 000.
- If you’d like to speak to someone about sexual violence, please call the 1800 Respect hotline on 1800 737 732 or chat online.
- Under 25? You can reach Kids Helpline at 1800 55 1800 or chat online.
The post All Of The Fucked Excuses We’ve Heard From The Men Accused Of Raping Gisele Pelicot So Far appeared first on PEDESTRIAN.TV .
