Warning: This story contains disturbing details from the start.
Dominique Pelicot, the 71-year-old man accused of drugging his wife to sleep and recruiting a number of men to abuse her for more than 10 years, has pleaded not guilty to all charges against him in his first testimony since the trial opened on September 2.
Referring to the 50 defendants accused of raping his ex-wife Gisèle, Mr Pelicot said: “I am a rapist like the others in this room.
“They all know each other, they can’t say the opposite,” he said.
Regarding his ex-wife, he said: “She didn’t deserve this.”
“I was very happy for him,” he told the court.
Gisèle, who was given the opportunity to answer shortly after, said: “It’s hard for me to listen to this.” For 50 years I have lived with a man I never thought could do this. I trusted him. absolutely.”
Mr Pelicot, who is a father and grandfather, told the court about painful experiences when he was a child and said he was abused by a male nurse at the age of nine.
When asked about his marriage to Gisèle, Mr Pelicot said he thought about killing himself when he found out he was having an affair. He said he wanted to crash his car into the trees, and lost his courage. “Maybe I should have,” he added.
Mr Pelicot also added about his feelings for Gisèle, saying “he is crazy about her… I loved her very much, and I still love her.”
“I loved him well for 40 years and badly for ten,” he added, apparently referring to the decade he drugged and abused her.
He was also asked about the thousands of videos he shot of men abusing his unconscious wife. These were found by the investigators and they helped a lot in tracking down 50 men accused of rape.
Mr Pelicot noted that he had recorded the men for “entertainment,” but also as “insurance, as of today, thank you [the videos] that we were able to find people involved in this”.
Although no cameras are allowed in court, the trial is open to the public at the request of Gisèle Pelicot, who waived her right to remain anonymous at the start of the trial. His legal team said filing a lawsuit would bring “shame” back on the accused.
Mr Pelicot, who has been diagnosed with kidney and kidney disease, has been absent from court for a week due to illness. He is scheduled to testify throughout the day, although he will be allowed to rest regularly.
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