Wife drugged by husband and 'raped by dozens of men' says she was 'assaulted by HIV-positive suspect'
5 September 2024, 15:17
The wife of a man who drugged her and invited dozens of men over to rape her said one of the men who assaulted her was HIV-positive.
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Gisele Pelicot said she was left a "heap of ruins" by the actions of her husband Dominique, who is on trial in France for drugging her and inviting dozens of strangers to rape her in their home over nine years.
Prosecutors said some 92 rapes took place over the nine years, carried out by 72 men. Fifty are being tried in the south-eastern town of Avignon for the aggravated rape of Ms Pelicot, with 35 of the accused having denied forcing themselves on her.
As a result of the alleged assaults, Ms Pelicot was exposed to HIV but did not catch it - but did contract four other sexually transmitted infections, the court heard on Thursday,
One of the men - who is accused of coming over to rape her six times - was HIV-positive, she told the court as she gave evidence.
"I was tested for HIV as one man who came (to rape me) six times was seropositive," she said. "My life was in danger but not one second did anyone stop.
“Luckily I didn’t catch it. But not once did Mr Pélicot say to himself, ‘I’ve gone too far’. He showed no pity, no pity at all."
Addressing Ms Pelicot, her lawyer said: "Some defendants admit the facts, others contest all the facts, and others confirm they were present but deny it was rape.
"You caught four STDs and were exposed to HIV six times. What have you got to say to people who claim you consented to all this?"
Mrs Pelicot said in response: “All I have to say is, it’s an insult to my intelligence. These individuals were totally aware of what state I was in.
"I never knowingly took part in any of these things. How can you even try and make people think that a woman would knowingly take part in all this?"
She later told the court: "When you look at me you think she’s strong, this woman, but inside it’s a heap of ruins.
"The façade is strong, inside it’s not the same."
Her husband is said to have catalogued more than 20,000 videos and images of his wife as she was assaulted between 2011 and 2020, and now stands accused of aggravated rape.
Ms Pelicot began by thanking the police officer who initially arrested her husband - who she is in the process of divorcing - after he was caught filming up women's skirts.
"He saved my life and I probably wouldn't be here without him," she said, according to the Telegraph.
Recalling the moment he allegedly confessed to taking pictures up women's skirts, she told the court: "On December 19, my husband said he had a problem with his phone and his code. I didn’t really understand but remained at my daughter’s house.
"When I returned to Mazan, our village, Mr Pelicot picked me up but had changed, he looked pale and anxious. I was worried about his health.
"Arriving in Mazan, he prepared my lunch. We are in the kitchen, he sat down and broke down in tears. I didn’t understand. I thought it was a health problem that had come back and I thought that it was about this.
"He said have ‘done something silly’ I said what? He said I was surprised in supermarket in Carpentras filming under women’s skirts.
"In 50 years, Mr Pelicot had never taken pictures of other women. I said I forgive you, we’ve never had any problems in 50 years. But there won’t be a next time, otherwise I’ll leave.
"He said I’m not going to do it again. I trusted it as our relationship was based on trust for the past 50 years."
She said she was summoned to the police station for what she thought was a "formality".
Ms Pelicot told the court that she was questioned about her husband.
“I was astonished by all these questions," she said.
"One question was then asked: 'How would you describe your husband?' I said for the past 50 years he was a ‘well intentioned and a nice guy'.
"I’m a woman who only one man can touch, Mr Pelicot, no other can put a hand on me. I was told to remove my mask and the policeman said I’m going to tell you something you won’t like."
Ms Pelicot said her daughter "screamed like a wild beast" when she heard the allegations.
"I will never forget this," she said. "When I told my sons about this, I don’t think they really understood, they were withdrawn and didn’t react much. I think they were in a state of shock. They said don’t say such silly things."
She said she was convinced she had Alzheimer's after suffering memory loss in 2011 and 2013, but her concerns were dismissed by her husband.
She said she jokingly asked her husband if he was drugging her and he “broke down in tears”, saying: “You actually think I could do that?”
Ms Pelicot went on to admit that she had an affair 14 years into her marriage.
She said her lover visited "periodically" over two years, which her husband “reacted very badly” to.
“He could see there was a problem as I found it hard to love two people at once," she said.
"As I said, our couple was based on trust so it was hard. But as I said he was the only man I had known.
“I only ever had two men in my bed. It may sound ridiculous today.”
Ms Pelicot told the court that she never authorised her husband to film her during sex.
“I don’t recall ever having a conversation about it," she said.
"The only conversation we had was about going swinging and I said categorically no, I will never do that."
