« She did not deserve this, » Gisele Pelicot’s ex-husband says at his trial in France, admitting to drugging and raping her and inviting other men to join in.
Avignon, France — « I am a rapist », , the 71-year-old Frenchman accused of drugging his wife so he and scores of strangers could assault her, told a court Tuesday, returning to the dock after being ill for around a week.
Pelicot used a cane as he slowly entered the courtroom in the southern city of Avignon before sitting on a blue armchair to give him enough comfort to take part in the hearings.
« I am a rapist, like the others in this room », Pelicot said, referring to the 50 other defendants in the mass trial — men he allegedly recruited online to rape his then-wife .
« They all knew » that he was inviting them to rape her, he said, adding: « She did not deserve this. »
Dominique Pelicot is accused of administering anti-anxiety drugs to Gisele over a period of almost a decade, from 2011 to 2020. While she was unconscious, he would rape her and recruited dozens of other men he met online to do the same.
