‘I am a rapist’: French man admits to drugging and mass rape of his ex-wife

Dominique Pelicot, 71, admits to drugging his ex-wife truthful that dozens of different men could rape her and begs for forgiveness.

Dominique Pelicot has admitted to drugging his ex-wife and recruiting dozens of strangers to rape her implicit astir a decade, and is begging for his family’s forgiveness.

The 71-year-old’s proceeding connected Tuesday, the centrepiece of 1 of France’s astir spectacular transgression trials successful caller history, had to beryllium delayed past week owed to his atrocious health.

He faces aggregate charges including rape, pack rape and privateness breaches by signaling and disseminating intersexual images.

Pelicot appeared successful tribunal with a cane connected Tuesday greeting and spoke to the justice done a microphone with his lawyer saying helium had taken dense medicine and was allowed to instrumentality breaks to prevarication down passim the day.

“I americium a rapist conscionable similar each the others successful this room,” helium said, adding: “I inquire my wife, my children, my grandchildren to judge my apologies. I regret what I did. I inquire for your forgiveness, adjacent if it is not forgivable.”

The lawsuit has shocked the state and triggered nationwide protests in enactment of his woman Gisele, who has go a awesome of the conflict against intersexual unit successful France.

Pelicot told the courtroom helium had a hard upbringing and had himself been a unfortunate of rape, breaking into tears during his testimony.

He said helium had wanted his woman to enactment successful spouse swaps and her refusal, unneurotic with trauma from his youth, had helped to trigger his abusive behaviour.

“It became a perversion, an addiction,” helium told the courtroom.

Pelicot, who said helium had filmed the acts of maltreatment arsenic an security argumentation against the men involved, said helium had been the unfortunate of blackmail arsenic a effect of his activities.

Gisele Pelicot was successful the courtroom, wearing sunglasses during her erstwhile husband’s quality connected the stand. She was greeted with applause by spectators erstwhile she near during breaks.

She had insisted connected a nationalist proceedings to exposure her ex-husband and the different men accused of raping her.

“For 50 years, I lived with a antheral who I would ne'er person imagined was susceptible of these acts of rape,” she said.

Gisele Pelicot began divorcement proceedings aft gathering with investigators implicit the case.

Prosecutors person said Dominique Pelicot, who was initially arrested aft filming up a woman’s skirt successful a supermarket, offered enactment with his then-wife connected a website called Coco and filmed the abuse.

In summation to Pelicot, 50 different men, presently aged 26 to 74, are besides connected proceedings connected rape charges successful the confederate metropolis of Avignon. Pelicot has said a full of 72 men participated successful the maltreatment of his then-wife.

While immoderate of the defendants admitted guilt to the investigators, others person said they believed they were enacting a couple’s phantasy and that Gisele Pelicot had successful information consented to sex.

Investigators recovered 300 photographs and a video of the acts and filed them successful folders, including 1 titled “Abuse,” according to a tribunal document.

Gisele Pelicot told investigators that she had suffered from representation lapses and had consulted a gynaecologist for unexplained pains.

The proceedings is acceptable to past done December. If recovered guilty, the defendants look up to 20 years successful jail.