Man who drugged wife in French mass rape case told: You'll die alone

Tensions astatine the French wide rape proceedings burst into the unfastened connected Wednesday erstwhile Dominique Pelicot’s girl Caroline shouted astatine her begetter from crossed the courtroom that helium would “die unsocial similar a dog”.

Caroline Darian, 45, has repeatedly said she is convinced her begetter drugged and abused her aft semi-naked photos of her dormant were recovered connected his laptop.

He has denied abusing her but has admitted drugging his woman Gisèle for a decennary and recruiting men online to rape her successful their location erstwhile she was unconscious.

Dominique Pelicot and 50 different men person been connected proceedings since September, and a verdict is expected connected 20 December.

During an affectional time successful tribunal successful Avignon, Gisèle Pelicot's lawyers gave their closing arguments, describing the historical quality of the proceedings and paying tribute to her courageousness successful waiving her anonymity to bring the wide rape proceedings into the open.

In her statements to the tribunal Caroline spoke of her anguish astatine what she says are persistent lies by her father.

Earlier this week, with a dependable afloat of emotion, she told the tribunal her beingness had “stopped” erstwhile constabulary archetypal showed her photos from her father's laptop successful 2020.

On Wednesday, Dominique Pelicot was fixed a accidental to code his girl portion taking the basal for the last clip successful this trial.

The main suspect said helium astir wished helium inactive had Caroline's support.

“Some whitethorn laughter but it’s my girl I privation I could look astatine successful the face. It hurts to spot her similar this,” helium said, sitting successful a solid container lone metres distant from his girl and the remainder of his family.

“I would emotion to spot her, I would emotion to speech to her,” helium added. As his dependable faltered, Caroline’s rose: “I volition ne'er travel spot you. Never. You volition dice unsocial similar a dog,” she shouted.

“We each dice alone,” helium replied. “You especially,” she deed back.

It was the past nationalist speech betwixt a begetter and girl who by each accounts had had, for galore years, a loving and adjacent relationship.

Mr Pelicot recalled visiting her successful infirmary erstwhile she was recovering from country arsenic a kid truthful helium could clasp her and comfortableness her, and shared memories of her teenage years.

When helium repeated that helium would ever emotion her adjacent if she had stopped loving him, she looked up silently, tears streaming down her look – but did not respond.

It was lone later, erstwhile the league ended, that she approached the container her begetter sat successful and shouted: “You had 2 months [to archer the truth]!”

During questioning, Mr Pelicot besides stated that helium was a enactment addict and that getting recovered retired by constabulary successful November 2020 had “unburdened him”.

He denied that his crimes against his woman had been sparked by an inferiority analyzable oregon by a tendency for revenge for an matter she had successful the 1980s.

Asked what helium thought astir chemic submission - drugging idiosyncratic for the purposes of coercion oregon battle - helium answered: “It’s crap. It annihilates everything. It should ne'er beryllium done.”

Mr Pelicot’s statements were followed by closing arguments from Gisèle Pelicot’s ineligible team.

Lawyers for the 50 different defendants volition springiness their ain closing arguments from adjacent week. They are expected to research much profoundly the defence that galore of the men cannot beryllium blameworthy due to the fact that they did not realise Ms Pelicot was unconscious and truthful did not "know" they were raping her.

Over astir 3 hours Ms Pelicot's lawyers, Antoine Camus and Stéphane Babonneau, retold the horrific communicative of Dominique Pelicot’s crimes, peppering their relationship with literate references.

"Everyone contributed to this monstrosity connected their ain level, and allowed a woman's ordeal to spell on. It's the banality of evil of [philosopher] Hannah Arendt," said Mr Camus.

They pleaded with the judges to manus down sentences that reflected the grade of the suffering of Gisèle Pelicot and her family.

Mr Camus said helium was alert of the “expectations and hopes successful this country and beyond” for the trial, which helium said helium described arsenic historic, due to the fact that “we badly, urgently privation and request it to be".

Leaning heavy connected the conception of escaped will, helium dismissed the defence’s statement that galore of the men who allegedly raped Ms Pelicot did truthful due to the fact that they were intimidated, manipulated oregon tricked by her husband. "Manipulation is not hypnosis," helium said.

The information they were each alert that Mr Pelicot was “recruiting” galore different men excessively should beryllium taken into relationship by the judges, helium added.

“Everyone who came into that location of horrors knew that others had travel earlier him and others would follow,” Mr Camus said.

His workfellow painted a devastating representation of Ms Pelicot’s beingness since her husband’s crimes had go known.

Stéphane Babonneau past described what had led Ms Pelicot – who by past was surviving successful a tiny colony nether her maiden sanction – to springiness up her anonymity and unfastened the proceedings to the nationalist and the media.

It was successful 2023, helium said, erstwhile French media began reporting connected the Pelicot lawsuit utilizing pseudonyms that “a feeling of rebellion started to instrumentality clasp of Gisèle Pelicot".

"She decided to instrumentality backmost power of her life. The infinitesimal had travel for shame to alteration sides.”

The volition to halt hiding had awoken successful her, helium said, due to the fact that she hadn’t done thing wrong. And she thought the details of her lawsuit and the videos of the alleged assaults would assistance exposure the world of rape.

“For her communicative to beryllium utile and to assistance different women she understood she had to springiness up the anonymity that had served her for years,” Mr Babonneau explained. “She had to judge she would everlastingly beryllium the unfortunate of the Mazan rapes.”

The lawyer besides urged judges not to judge that the defendants had made a “mistake” erstwhile – arsenic immoderate person said – they raped Ms Pelicot involuntarily oregon “out of stupidity oregon ignorance”.

“If you judge the close to marque a mistake, what volition halt different antheral time from saying that erstwhile a pistillate told him ‘no’ helium really understood ‘yes’? That helium besides made a mistake?”

“I inquire you to cull the close to marque mistakes which would enactment nine successful information – and astatine the hazard of seeing much Gisèle Pelicots,” Mr Babonneau said.

He ended by paying tribute to Ms Pelicot and said the proceedings would beryllium a “legacy” for aboriginal generations: “They volition perceive the sanction Gisèle Pelicot, they volition perceive astir her courageousness and astir the terms she paid.”

Turning to look astatine Ms Pelicot, helium said: “You did your job. You went beyond what was expected of you.”

“Now, walk connected the torch to the others to transportation connected the combat you ne'er chose.”

Gisèle Pelicot, to his right, wiped her eyes.