Maybe she was shy Defendants justify themselves in the Pelicot rape trial
Fifty accomplices are on trial in the Pelicot rape trial in Avignon. The first defendants have now testified.
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- Over a period of nine years, a man in France repeatedly drugged his wife and had her abused by numerous men.
- The husband and 50 accomplices are now on trial for rape.
- Their attempts at justification have so far been similar.
For years, Dominique Pelicot drugged and abused his wife Gisèle and left her to be raped by other men. He has now confessed to this in court. A total of 83 men were counted on videos and photos as they had their way with the woman who had left them. 50 of them have been identified. Only 15 of them have so far admitted to rape. Rape in France is punishable by up to twenty years in prison.
All 50 perpetrators are also on trial in the rape trial in Avignon. They will be presented one by one in the coming weeks. The psychological reports will be read out first. Then the defense lawyers and judges will ask their questions, followed by the lawyers of plaintiff Gisèle Pelicot. Finally, Dominique Pelicot, who was always present, will be asked for his version of events.
Blameless members of society
The psychological reports of the first three defendants were already read out last week, reports correspondent Johanna Adorjàn for the "Tagesanzeiger" directly from the courtroom. The patterns are similar: difficult childhoods, blameless members of society - until they discovered Dominique Pelicot's offer on the Internet.
The justifications also sounded similar: it was assumed that the woman knew what was going on, was perhaps a little shy and had therefore taken a sleeping pill. And the title of the internet platform "A son insu" - "Without her knowledge" was surely not to be taken seriously. It was assumed to be a joke between couples who were keen to experiment.
Defendants felt threatened by husband
According to the correspondent, all three immediately felt uncomfortable when they entered the bedroom. However, they did not dare to leave. The husband had such an intimidating effect on them, even though he had not directly threatened them.
The trial is scheduled to last until December 20, 2024. At Gisèle Pelicot's request, it will take place in public. She justified her decision with a slogan from the French women's movement of the 1970s: "La honte doit changer de camp" - "Shame must change sides."
