“I am a rapist like others in this room” Frenchman admits guilt in mass rape trial

The main defendant in a mass rape trial that shocked France said Tuesday, September 17, that he was a “rapist”.

 71-year-old Dominique Pelicot spoke today in his first testimony to the court since the trial opened on September 2. 

He admitted being guilty of rape, adding that 50 other co-defendants he allegedly recruited to rape his then-wife while she was drugged were rapists too. 

“I am a rapist like the others in this room. They all knew they could not say the contrary,” Dominique Pelicot said.

He said of his ex-wife, 71-year-old Gisele Pelicot: “She did not deserve this.”

Prosecutors have said Pelicot offered sex with his wife on a website and filmed the abuse. 

In addition to Pelicot, 50 other men accused of taking part are on trial, which is taking place in the southern city of Avignon. The other men so far have not commented on their charges. 

Pelicot’s former wife, Gisele Pelicot, now aged 72, insisted on a public trial to expose him and the other men accused of raping her. 

Pelicot’s bad health required the judges to push back his hearing several times last week. 

His lawyer previously said he wanted to use the hearing to make an apology to his family.

Dominique Pelicot has been accused of administering anti-anxiety drugs to Gisele for almost a decade, from 2011 to 2020. 

While she was unconscious, he would r@pe her and recruit dozens of other men he met online to do the same. 

Dominique Pelicot has admitted the charges, but Tuesday is the first time he has spoken at any length since the trial began on September 2. 

The court may also hear more from Gisele Pelicot, who was present in the courtroom alongside Dominique’s brother Joel.

Beatrice Zavarro, the defendant’s lawyer, told AFP on Monday that he was suffering from “a clot in the bladder” and the beginning of a kidney infection. But a medical exam ordered by the presiding judge found that he was in a fit state to appear in court, avoiding a delay of weeks or even months to the hearings.