‘I am a rapist,’ Dominique Pelicot’s husband admits in French serial rape trial

Warning: This story contains disturbing details from the beginning.

Dominique Pelicot, the 71-year-old man accused of drugging his wife and recruiting dozens of men to abuse her over more than 10 years, admitted to all the charges against him in his first testimony since the trial opened on September 2.

Referring to the 50 co-defendants accused of raping his ex-wife Gisèle, Mr Pelicot said: “I am as much a rapist as everyone else in this room.”

“They all knew, they can’t say otherwise,” he said. Only 15 of the 50 defendants admitted to rape, most of whom said they only engaged in sexual acts.

Speaking of his ex-wife, Mr Pelicot said: “She didn’t deserve this.”

“I was very happy to be with her,” he told the court.

Gisèle, who was given the chance to respond shortly afterwards, said: “I find this hard to listen to. For 50 years I have lived with a man who I never thought could do this. I trusted him completely.”

Although cameras were not allowed in the courtroom, the trial was open to the public at the request of Gisèle Pelicot, who waived her right to anonymity at the start of the trial. Her legal team said opening the trial would transfer the “shame” back to the defendant.

Mr Pelicot, a father and grandfather, began his testimony by telling the court about traumatic childhood experiences and said he was sexually abused by a male nurse when he was just nine years old.

When asked about his marriage to Gisèle, Mr. Pelicot said he considered suicide when he discovered her infidelity.

Throughout his testimony Tuesday morning, Mr. Pelicot repeatedly assured the court that he never “hated” his wife and that he was, in fact, “mad because of her.” [her]… I loved her so much and still do to this day.”

“I loved her for 40 years and was bad for 10,” he added, apparently referring to the decade he drugged and abused her.

Mr Pelicot was then questioned by Stéphane Babonneau, one of Gisèle’s lawyers, who asked him why he could not find the will to stop abusing her, even when she began to have health problems.

In previous court appearances, Gisèle said she was worried she was developing Alzheimer’s or a brain tumor because of her hair loss, weight loss, and major memory problems. These were, in fact, side effects of the medication her husband had been giving her.

“I tried to quit, but my addiction got stronger and stronger, the need grew,” he said.

“I tried to reassure her, I betrayed her trust. I should have stopped sooner, in fact I shouldn’t have started.”

Mr Pelicot has also been accused of drugging and abusing his daughter, Caroline, after semi-nude photos of her were found on his laptop. He has previously denied this and on Tuesday also said he had never touched his granddaughter. “I can look my family in the eye and tell them nothing else happened,” he said.

Mr Pelicot also said he “went rotten” when, in 2010, he met a male nurse online who suggested he give his wife sedatives, explained how to use them and shared photos of women being drugged. “That’s when it became clear,” Mr Pelicot said. “It just started from there.”

As part of Tuesday’s hearing, Pelicot was also asked about thousands of videos he made of men abusing his unconscious wife. Those videos were found by investigators and played a key role in the search for 50 men now accused of rape.

Mr Pelicot admitted he filmed the men partly for “fun”, but also “for insurance”.

Throughout the morning, Mr Pelicot appeared determined to reject one of the main defences of some of the defendants, based on the premise that they did not “know” that they were raping Gisèle – in other words, they thought they were having consensual sex with her.

Mr Pelicot met the defendants on a chat room called “Without her knowing” on a now-defunct website that hosted pornographic material.

“I didn’t force anyone, they came to me,” he said Tuesday. “They asked me if they could come, and I said yes. I never handcuffed and dragged anyone.”

Some said they had been “controlled” by Mr Pelicot into believing they were taking part in a pornographic game in which Gisèle was only pretending to be asleep because she was shy, and some denied knowing they were being filmed.

But Mr Pelicot said the only person he ever “controlled” was his wife, and also said the men must have known they were being filmed: “There was a tripod and a screen attached to it, everyone could see it as soon as they walked into the room.”

Mr Pelicot said he wanted to prove that his wife “was a victim and not an accomplice. To prove that it all happened without her knowledge. I know a lot [defendants] have argued about this.”

Béatrice Zavarro, Mr Pelicot’s lawyer, told French television she did not know what people would think of her client, but that he was “sharing his truth”.

She added that Mr Pelicot was “very distressed” and while she did not know what his wife would think of his plea for forgiveness, “the confession is now underway and he will continue”.

“We will get to the end of this trial and we will know everything about Dominique Pelicot,” she said.

Mr Pelicot, who has been diagnosed with a kidney infection and kidney stones, has been absent from court for nearly a week due to illness. He will testify throughout the day, although he will be allowed frequent breaks.