A four-month-long and highly publicised trial in Avignon, southern France, has concluded with a 20-year prison sentence—the maximum term—for the ex-husband of 72-year-old French rape survivor Gisèle Pelicot. Between 2011 and 2020, Ms Pelicot was drugged and raped by her then-husband Dominique Pelicot and 51 other men that he invited to their home. He was held on trial with the men, all of whom were found guilty of at least one charge.
For nearly a decade, Ms. Pelicot remained oblivious to the horrors she had endured, only discovering the truth in 2020. The frequent drug-induced blackouts had erased her awareness, leaving her unable to comprehend the nightmare she was subjected to.
After her retirement, she began feeling ill. She was losing weight; her hair was falling out; she experienced “total blackouts”. In the courtroom, she recounted a blackout that she only awoke from in the late evening. In fear, she associated these symptoms to early onset Alzheimer’s or a brain tumour.
Unbeknownst to her, her symptoms were caused by crushed sleeping pills that Mr. Pelicot had begun secretly lacing her food and drinks. – which he admitted to in court.
Mr Pelicot secured a prescription of an anti-anxiety drug, Tamesta, and would use up to ten tablets a day to render her unconscious. At the time of his arrest, Dominique had been prescribed 780 pills.
However, this was not Mr Pelicot’s first criminal offence against vulnerable women. In 2010, he was arrested for using a miniature camera concealed in a pen to capture videos up the skirts of women in a shopping mall. He was arrested and fined 100 euros. This incident was also revealed to Ms Pelicot in 2020 by an investigative judge.
He was arrested and fined a mere 100 euros for taking upskirt photos—how can such a minimal penalty suffice for such a violation? Such minimal consequences might be why Dominique felt like he might get away with such a serious crime.
“If I had been informed, maybe I would have left him,” said Ms Pelicot. “I would have been more attentive”, she added.
How did she come to discover her assault?
On 12 September 2020, Mr Pelicot repeated his offence. He was, once again, arrested for filming up the skirts of women in a supermarket in Carpentras, a town near Mazan.
During the arrest, the police in Carpentras seized his two phones, a camera and a video recorder he was carrying, as well as a laptop, a USB key and an SD card from his home. During the investigation, he was released and he shared the incident with his then wife.
When the police called for her, Ms Pelicot assumed that the conversation would be pertaining to his arrest – yet, it was revealed to be something much more vile and sinister.
Police officers divulge the thousands of videos and pictures – spanning over a decade – that they recovered on her husband’s electronics and told her that they believed she was being assaulted for years by not only him, but dozens of strangers who were raping her alongside him. Her home was now a crime scene.
In Court
The first stranger to enter her home was identified as Adrien Longeron, who at the time was 24-years-old. The video played in court captured him penetrating Ms Pelicot, who was asleep in her bed. Despite him being charged with aggravated rape, he pleaded not guilty. He had claimed that, “as long as the husband was present, there was no rape”.
This case starkly exposes the glaring gaps in the legal system, where even with clear evidence, like a video capturing the assault, perpetrators can plead not guilty and exploit legal technicalities. It highlights how justice can often be delayed or denied, leaving victims vulnerable and perpetuating a system that seems ill-equipped to hold offenders fully accountable for their actions. Despite the rapes that were committed, the court only charged Dominique with a longer sentencing despite there being several men taking part in this atrocity. It undermines the seriousness of the issue because they are all at fault so why shouldn’t they all be held more severely accountable?
There were 72 men, who were believed by authorities, to have assaulted her, but only 47 were found guilty of rape – does that seem fair?
Other individuals are being discovered as the police scour through photos, records from Skype messages, phone calls, and text messages. Their efforts allow them to track most assaulters down.
43-year-old Vincent Coullet made two visits to the Pelicot residence. He had admitted that he did not give her willingness much consideration. “Now that I am being told how the events unfolded, yes the acts I committed would amount to rape ” he added. Vincent was merely looking for a sexual encounter so he didn’t put in much consideration when participating. His second visit took place after Dominique had assured him that Ms Pelicot “liked it” after watching their recording. He too pleaded not guilty.
Many of the other men had also claimed that their acts did not occur to them as rape. They assumed that her permission was given through Mr Pelicot, who allowed them to rape her.
Psychological background
However, there is one thing that appears to recur between several men – they were all survivors of sexual assault or violence when they were younger.
Cyrille Delvill, 54, recounted a violent public beating at the hands of his alcoholic father at a young age. His father would wait outside school with a meat cleaver to attack him. 44-year-old Lionel Rodriguez was sexually abused from the ages 12 to 13 by the president of the pétanque club in his village. From the age of two, Fabien Sotton was sexually abused by his own father. After moving between various foster homes, he went on to face more violence and sexual abuse. Between the ages of 18 to 28, the now 39-year-old became homeless and was battling an alcohol addiction.
This recurring trauma in these men show that there are somethings you can never recover from and it can become destructive and influence your actions, which was seen through them raping Ms Pelicot. Despite there being a level of empathy that resonates within me, their trauma should never pass on to another and it becomes inexcusable for it to be the reason they destroy someone else’s life.
On 2 September 2024, Ms Pelicot takes the stand and refuses the anonymity offered by law to victims of sexual assault. “No woman should suffer from being drugged and victimised.” she added. Her selflessness is an admirable quality, because she prioritises the well-being of potential victims, or those who are scared to come out by putting herself in the limelight – with the hopes that her case gives others the courage to stand up and fight against their assaulters.
Other victims who have publicly exposed their assaulters
The Pelicot case uplifts sexual assault survivors by encouraging the rejection of the legal protections put in place to protect their identity. They are challenging not only their perpetrators, but also the courts, the rape culture and the way people perceive shame.
Other survivors who have testified publicly include Adji Sarr from Senegal and Nikita Hand in Ireland.
Sarr filed a case against Senegal’s opposition leader, Ousmane Sonko, and has faced death threats since 2021. Yet, this has not discouraged her, as she proceeded to reaffirm her accusations on television a month later. Sonko was eventually acquitted or rape in 2023 and was found guilty of having a sexual relationship with Sarr, who at the time was below 21.
Likewise, Hand accused mixed marital arts (MMA) fighter Connor McGregor of raping her, and she wone her claim against him for damages in a civil case. Despite him being a celebrity, she came out publicly to accuse him and win herself the justice she deserved.
Ultimately, the bravery of these women is what will be remembered in history. Their private lives are laid bare as evidence, subjecting them to criticism and further violations. Yet, despite the vulnerability and pain, they endure it all, driven by an unyielding commitment to the greater good.
“I’m thinking of the unrecognised victims whose stories often remain in the shadows. I want you to know that we share the same struggle”, said Ms Pelicot.
