Gisele Pelicot: Husband 'destroyed' and cheated on me, says woman at mass rape trial center in France

The woman at the center of a rape trial that shocked France has spoken for the first time in court, saying she cannot understand how the “perfect man” destroyed her life.

Gisele Pelicot, 72 years old, was sedated and raped by her ex-husband Dominique Pelicot.

For nearly a decade, he crushed sleeping pills and other anti-anxiety medications into her food and drink and allegedly recruited men online to rape her.

He has already admitted his crimes, committed between 2011 and 2020, and said he organized dozens of men to come to her house and rape her while she was in a coma.

Supported by her family, Ms Pelicot was applauded as she arrived at court on Wednesday.

She spoke directly to her ex-husband during the testimony

“I still don’t understand how this man who was perfect could do this, destroy my life and betray me,” she said.

“I haven’t been able to look Dominique Pelicot in the face – but today I speak to him,” she said as part of a mid-trial statement.

“We have been together for 50 years. I was a happy wife; We have three children and seven grandchildren.

“You were a good husband and a good man, and I trusted you. I never doubted you,” she said, starting to cry.

But this good man, she told the court, was responsible for her being raped 100 times.

Ms. Pelicot expressed anger and disbelief that he allegedly allowed people into her rooms when he knew she was against swinging.

When she became ill, he accompanied her to the gynecologist, but no one suspected anything, she told the court.

“My life turned upside down. You chose to do this,” she told him.

The judge asked about her mealtime routine, referring to evidence that Dominique Pelicot had put drugs in her food.

Gisele Pelicot said he ate a lot of meals and often brought her ice cream afterwards.

“I thought ‘wow’, I’m lucky to have a husband who takes care of me like this,” she told the court, explaining that she was completely unaware that the food was drugged.

She said she must have fallen asleep quickly as she often woke up tired and in her pajamas.

If she was raped during the day, she said her husband must have drugged her orange juice.

During interrogation, she was asked whether she thought her ex-husband had acted out of revenge.

She said she considered he might be trying to punish her after she had a lover in their relationship about 30 years ago.

Mrs. Pelicot also said her ex-husband talked about lovers.

Forty-nine of the 51 men on trial, including Dominique Pelicot, are accused of rape, one of attempted rape and one of sexual assault.

Some admit the accusations, but say they did not intend to commit rape.

Most, however, deny the allegations, with some claiming to believe they were part of a game between the couple.

The men are between 26 and 74 years old and the majority lived in the southeast France. Among them are a journalist, soldier and truck driver.

They face up to 20 years in prison if convicted.

‘I am a broken woman’

Gisele Pelicot said she waived her right to anonymity and allowed videos of the attacks to be shown in court because “it makes people see the truth.”

During her statement, she also addressed the women who gave testimony in support of the co-defendants.

“When I hear mothers, sisters and partners talk about their men as normal… the profile of a rapist could be normal, it could be a friend or a family man,” she said.

“Can you imagine what that does to me? That I was accused of pretending I was asleep and that I was aware of what was happening. It’s violent.”

She said she was a “broken woman” and was receiving psychological help.

Despite the trauma, she said she wanted to offer hope and strength to other victims: “I wish every rape victim could say, ‘well, if Gisele can do it, we can do it.’

“Because when we are raped we are ashamed, but we are not ashamed of ourselves, but of those men”, she declared.

She said she was hurt when a defense lawyer asked her at what point the sexual activity was rape.

“They did this to an unconscious woman. Rape is rape,” she said, emotionally.

Reacting to some defendants’ apologies, she said it would have been evident when they touched her that she was not conscious.

“They’re apologizing to themselves, not me,” she said.

‘He found sex elsewhere’

On Wednesday morning, the court also heard from the partners of some of the men accused of raping the 72-year-old woman.

The wife of one of them said that because he refused sex, “he found it somewhere else.”

The 45-year-old woman described her husband, Jean Luc-L, as “friendly, honest, but he trusts everyone easily. He is a good husband and father.”

She said their life was normal, adding: “He never hit me. I often refused sex. He insisted, but if I refused he would be unhappy and leave.”

Recalling when police told her about the allegations, the mother-of-two said: “I was in shock, but I think because I refused him sex, as a man, that’s why he found it somewhere else.”

Upon hearing the comment, Gisele expressed surprise through her lawyer.

“I understand Gisele’s position,” said the co-defendant’s wife.

The lawyer asked about Gisele’s surprise at her comments: “It’s because I kept refusing and for a long time,” she replied, provoking audible gasps from some present in the courtroom.

“I understand that what my husband did to Gisele is unacceptable and I share his pain,” she said.

The woman said she did not abandon her husband and still visits him in prison.

Another woman, a former partner of Florian R., described him as “a normal guy”.

“We were fine, we were normal,” she said, explaining that they have children but separated in 2019.

The 37-year-old said his sex life was “normal,” “basic” and didn’t involve fantasies.

Speaking about when she found out he was being investigated, she said: “I initially thought he was in trouble with the police because he was with a girl who I thought was very young… she was 14.”

She said they still talked on the phone because of their children, who she took to visit him in prison.

The trial in Avignon is expected to continue until the end of the year.