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Mazan rapes case

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(Redirected from Gisele Pelicot rapes affair)

Mazan rapes
Mazan rapes case is located in France
Mazan
Mazan
Villiers-sur-Marne
Villiers-sur-Marne
Drôme
Drôme
Villeparisis
Villeparisis
Mazan rapes case (France)
Native name Viols de Mazan
DateJuly 2011 – October 2020
Location
  • Mazan, France
  • Paris, France
  • Drôme, France
Also known asPélicot case
TypeRape
Non-fatal injuries
  • Gisèle Pélicot
  • Mme. Maréchal
Accused
  • Dominique Pélicot
  • Jean-Pierre Maréchal
  • 49 others
ChargesAggravated rape

Dominique Pélicot, a 71-year-old from Mazan in south-eastern France, is accused of repeatedly drugging his wife and inviting strangers to rape her while she was unconscious. Over a period of nine years from July 2011 to October 2020 Gisèle Pélicot, who was unaware of the abuse being perpetrated against her, was raped 92 times by 72 men. The abuse only came to light in September 2020 when Dominique Pélicot was arrested in an unrelated matter and police discovered thousands of images and videos of the rapes that Pélicot had taken and stored on his computing equipment. Pélicot is also accused of training Jean-Pierre Maréchal to drug and rape his own wife. The trial in Avignon of Dominique Pélicot and 50 other men accused of the rapes began on 2 September 2024, and is scheduled to conclude in mid-December.

Background

[edit]

Dominique Pélicot was born on 27 November 1952 in Quincy-sous-Sénart in the Essonne region of France.[1] After school he had an apprenticeship with an electrician and pursued a career in the field.[2] He was then a real estate agent before becoming a technical sales agent of fire alarms and computer equipment.[2] It was during this time he met Gisèle in 1971 and they married in April 1973 in Azay-le-Ferron, Indre.[1][2] They had two sons (David and Florian) and a daughter (Caroline) and lived in the Paris suburb of Villiers-sur-Marne.[1][2][3][4]

Dominique Pélicot worked for Électricité de France (EDF) for many years.[1][5] Gisèle Pélicot was a business manager at EDF.[3] Dominique Pélicot lived beyond his means and got into debt – his brother Thierry lent him €75,000 which was never repaid.[2] His electrical research company went bankrupt in 2001.[2] The couple divorced in order to protect their assets from Pélicot's creditors but remarried for a second time on 11 July 2007.[2]

Dominique Pélicot was arrested in 2010 for upskirting female customers at a Carrefour supermarket in Collégien, Seine-et-Marne.[6] He was fined €100 but his wife was never informed of the incident.[7]

The Pélicot's retired to Mazan, Vaucluse, a small town north-east of Avignon, in March 2013.[3][8] Their three children and seven grandchildren regularly vacationed with them at their rented home in Mazan which had a large garden and swimming pool.[8]

Arrest and investigation

[edit]

Dominique Pélicot was arrested on 12 September 2020 after he had been apprehended by a security guard for upskirting female customers using his mobile phone at a E.Leclerc supermarket in Carpentras, Vaucluse.[3][9] A camcorder, camera and condoms were found in his bag.[2] During his interrogation at Avignon police station Pélicot claimed that he didn't usually do this kind of thing and that he had been overcome by urges as his wife had been away from home for a month.[2] He was released on bail pending investigation of his two mobile phones, laptop and other digital equipment that had been seized at his home.[2][8]

Investigation of Pélicot's seized equipment showed that he had been part of a private chatroom called à son insu ("without her knowing"), hosted on the Coco.gg website, in which members discussed performing sexual acts on their partners without their consent, often drugged.[3][10] The website, which was registered in Guernsey, was owned by Bulgarian company Vinci SA and operated by Isaac Steidel.[10] The website was connected to more than 23,000 French criminal cases from 2021 to 2024 alone and was shut down in June 2024.[8] In the chats Pélicot invited other men to rape his wife and to watch videos of the rapes afterwards.[9] Skype messages were also found in which he boasted of drugging his wife and inviting strangers to rape his unconscious wife.[8]

On a USB stick connected to Pélicot's computer investigators found a folder called ABUS ("ABUSE") containing more than 20,000 of images and videos of the rapes.[8][9][11] Gisèle Pélicot was listless and unconscious in them.[2] The media had been meticulously filed by Dominique Pélicot with explicit titles, such as ABUS / nuit du 26 mai 2020 avec Marc Sodo 5e fois ("ABUSE / night of 26 May 2020 with Marc Sodo 5th time"), which gave the dates, names of the perpetrators and nature of the acts.[2] This allowed the investigators to identify 92 separate rapes committed against Gisèle Pélicot by 72 different men between July 2011 to October 2020.[12] It took the police two years to identify and locate the perpetrators.[8] Only 50 of the rapists were identified.[12] The perpetrators were aged between 21 and 68 at the time of the rapes.[9]

Photographs were also found of Pélicot's two daughters-in-law in the shower which had been taken without their consent and had been shared online.[2][9] Two photos were found of his daughter Caroline Darian when she was around 30 years old, listless on a bed as if she had been anaesthetised and dressed in her mother's underwear.[2][9] Pélicot has never admitted abusing Caroline.[2]

Re-arrest and confession

[edit]

On 2 November 2020 Dominique Pélicot and Gisèle Pélicot were called by the police to attend an interview.[7][13] The police questioned Gisèle Pélicot about their sex life and she told them they never indulged in wife swapping or threesomes.[13] She was shown a photograph but she did not recognise the man and woman "asleep" in the photo.[13] The officer asked if the bed and table in the photo were the Pélicot's but Gisèle Pélicot still did not recognise herself.[13] But when a second photograph was shown she finally understood what had been happening to her.[13] She has been raped around 200 times between 2011 and 2020, initially in Paris and later in Mazan.[7][13] Her "world fell apart".[13]

Dominique Pélicot was re-arrested on 2 November 2020 and charged with aggravated rape, drugging and numerous sexual abuses.[8][9][11] He was also accused of violating the privacy of his wife, daughter and two daughters-in-law by illegally recording, and occasionally distributing, intimate photos of them.[8] Pélicot has admitted his guilt.[8][11] He also admitted to getting satisfaction from watching other men abuse his wife.[13] He claimed he was ready to face his family in court.

According to Pélicot the abuse started after his wife had been prescribed Temesta, an anxiolytic drug, which caused her to be drowsy.[9] He took advantage of this by secretly adding Temesta to his wife's meals and drinks, causing her lose consciousness which allowed him to commit sexual acts, such as sodomy, which his wife had refused.[9] He would film the abuse, sometimes committed after he had taken Viagra, and share them online.[9] He would invite strangers from the internet to watch him abusing his wife and on other occasions he would "offer" his wife to others to abuse.[9] Dominique Pélicot eventually started to obtain pills from his own doctor to use on his wife – according to the Primary Health Insurance Fund [fr], Pélicot had been prescribed 450 anxiolytic pills in one year alone.[2][11]

Each rape took followed a similar routine – Dominique Pélicot would ask the perpetrator to park away from the house so as not to be noticed, and to wait up to an hour for the pills administered to Gisèle Pélicot to take effect.[2][13] They would be asked to not wear perfumes or smoke beforehand as Gisèle Pélicot had strong sense of smell.[2][13] The perpetrators would be asked to undress in the kitchen or living room so as not to leave anything behind in the bedroom, and to warm their hands on the radiator or with hot water so as not to wake Gisèle Pélicot.[2][13] Pélicot would demand that the perpetrators not wear condoms.[14] One of the perpetrators was HIV positive and was responsible for six of the rapes.[14][15] As a result Gisèle Pélicot was found to have contracted four sexually transmitted infections.[7][14] After the abuse Pélicot would clean his wife's body.[8][9] No money was exchanged between Pélicot and the other perpetrators.[9][13] Dominique Pélicot is said to have had homosexual relations with some of the accused whilst others provided the drugs used to sedate Gisèle Pélicot.[2]

The rapes had taken a huge toll on Gisèle Pélicot's health. She had been losing her hair and had lost almost 16 kilograms (35 lb) in weight.[2][8] During her final years in Paris she began experiencing memory loss – her children and friends feared she had Alzheimer's.[2][3] The memory loss and fatigue intensified after she moved to Mazan.[3] On one occasion she woke up one morning with a haircut she could not remember getting.[3][11] She went to her hairdresser who told her that she had her haircut the previous day.[3][11] She had also complained of pain in her cervix.[16] Gisèle Pélicot sought medical advice many times but was always accompanied by Dominique Pélicot who claimed that her symptoms were due to overwork she experienced whilst caring for their grandchildren in Paris.[3][11] None of the doctors suspected that the symptoms were caused by the abuse that Dominique Pélicot had been secretly inflicting on his wife.[3][8] After learning of the abuse, Gisèle Pélicot left the marital home with just two suitcases.[17] She has since divorced Dominique Pélicot and changed her surname.[8]

Despite admitting his guilt, Dominique Pélicot does not believe he did anything wrong and claims that he saved her from suffering by drugging her.[2] He told an personality investigator appointed by the examining magistrate that he had been raped by a male nurse at the age on 9 whilst receiving treatment at a clinic for a head injury inflicted by his brother.[2] However, according to his brother Thierry, their mother made inquiries at the clinic and found that there were no male nurses on duty at the time Pélicot claimed he had been raped.[2] Thierry has said he does not believe his brother's claim.[2] Dominique Pélicot also told the personality investigator that his father had been violent to his mother but according to Thierry that whilst their parents had arguments, the only violence he witnessed was when his father slapped his mother once or twice.[2] Dominique Pélicot also claimed that his career ambitions had been constrained by the fact that his parents invested all their savings on his brother's medical studies, a claim denied by Thierry who says his studies were on a scholarship.[2]

The Pélicot's daughter Caroline Darian published a book titled Et j'ai cessé de t'appeler Papa : Quand la soumission chimique frappe une famille ("And I Stopped Calling You Dad: When Chemical Submission Hits a Family") about the case in 2022.[18][19] She has also established a non-profit organisation called M'endors Pas ("Don't Put Me to Sleep") to publicise the dangers of drug-facilitated crimes.[20][21] She has filed a civil suit against her father.[16]

Clone rapes

[edit]

In addition to the abuse of his wife, Dominique Pélicot is accused of training Jean-Pierre Maréchal to perpetrate the same abuse against his own wife.[22] Between 2015 and 2020, Pélicot regularly travelled to Maréchal's home in Drôme to "train" him, creating his double, a clone.[3][22] Pélicot would supervise Maréchal who agreed to "hand over" his wife to Pélicot.[22] Pélicot and Maréchal are accused of raping Maréchal's wife ten times.[3][22] Jean-Pierre Maréchal has not been charged with raping Gisèle Pélicot.[8]

Indictment and trial

[edit]

On 19 June 2023 Gwenola Journot, an investigating judge from the Avignon judicial court, published a 370-page report indicting 51 men for rape.[23][24] A 52nd suspect died of cancer before being arrested.[24][25]

They accused range in age from 25 to 72 and come from all walks of life – firefighter, IT experts, journalist, nurse, plumber, prison guard, truck driver.[2][8] Many have partners and children and 41 are from Vaucluse.[8][26] Most are charged with one count of rape but a few are charged with multiple rapes, including one who is charged with six counts of rape.[8] Five of the men are also charged with possessing images of child sexual abuse.[8] Eighteen of the accused are currently detained (16 in respect of this case and two in respect of the other cases) and thirty-three are free but under judicial supervision.[9][26] The accused face imprisonment of up to 20 years if found guilty.[27][28]

Some of the accused have admitted their guilt whilst others claim that the acts were consensual or that Gisèle Pélicot was pretending to be asleep or agreed to be drugged.[3][8][9] Some have claimed that they had Dominique Pélicot's permission which was sufficient.[8] Twelve of the accused appealed their indictment but on 5 October 2023 the Court of Appeal in Nîmes rejected their appeal.[29][30]

The trial of Dominique Pélicot, Jean-Pierre Maréchal and 49 other defendants at the Judicial Court in Avignon began on 2 September 2024 and is expected to last until 20 December 2024.[26][31] The prosecutor and several defence lawyers requested that the trial be held in private but Gisèle Pélicot opposed this and requested, through her lawyer, that it be held in public so that everyone knows what she experienced.[11][32] After deliberation by the five professional magistrates, presiding judge Roger Arata announced that the trial would be in public.[11][32]

[edit]

Dominique Pélicot has been implicated in two other crimes. On 4 December 1991 23-year-old real estate agent Sophie Narme was found dead, naked and face down on the carpet of an apartment that she was supposed to be showing a client in the 19th arrondissement of Paris.[33][34] She had been raped before being strangled with a belt.[33] Police initially linked the case to serial killer Michel Fourniret before attributing it to an elusive sex criminal nicknamed "Le Grêlé".[33] The case remained cold for 30 years until similarities were noticed with the Mazan rapes. On 14 October 2022 Dominique Pélicot was charged with the rape and murder of Sophie Narme, a charge that he denies.[33][35]

On 11 May 1999 a man attempted to rape 19-year-old real estate agent Estella B. as she was showing him an apartment in Villeparisis, Seine-et-Marne but the victim managed to escape after fighting back.[6][11] After Pélicot was arrested in Collégien in 2010 his DNA was found to match DNA that had been found on Estella B.'s show in 1999.[6] The police failed to pursue the matter and Pélicot was allowed to continue his crime spree.[6] After being arrested in 2020 Pélicot's DNA was once gain matched to that from the Villeparisis case and, after initially denying his involvement, Pélicot admitting to the attempted rape of Estella B.[8][35]

See also

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References

[edit]
  1. ^ a b c d Sarrot, Aurélie (1 September 2024). "Il droguait sa femme pour que des hommes la violent : qui est Dominique Pélicot, jugé aux côtés de 50 accusés à partir de ce lundi ?". TF1 (in French). Paris, France. Archived from the original on 5 September 2024. Retrieved 6 September 2024.
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v w x y z aa ab ac Mazéas, Marine; Mignot, Julien (16 November 2023). "Il livrait sa femme inconsciente à des violeurs : mon frère, le monstre de Mazan". Paris Match (in French). Paris, France. Archived from the original on 4 September 2024. Retrieved 6 September 2024.
  3. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n Thomas, Marlène; Delage, Juliette (1 September 2024). "Affaire des viols de Mazan : le procès d'un long supplice". Libération (in French). Paris, France. Archived from the original on 3 September 2024. Retrieved 6 September 2024.
  4. ^ Monrozier, Anne Jocteur; Bossard, Adèle (6 September 2024). "Viols de Mazan : "Comment on fait pour se reconstruire quand on sait ?", demande la fille du principal accusé". France Bleu (in French). Paris, France. Agence France-Presse. Archived from the original on 6 September 2024. Retrieved 7 September 2024.
  5. ^ "French retiree accused of enlisting dozens of strangers to rape wife after he drugged her". CBS News. New York, USA. Agence France-Presse. 30 August 2024. Archived from the original on 5 September 2024. Retrieved 6 September 2024.
  6. ^ a b c d Moreno, Justine Briquet (3 September 2024). "Affaire des viols de Mazan : l'ADN de Dominique P. retrouvé dans des « cold cases »". Elle (in French). Paris, France. Archived from the original on 5 September 2024. Retrieved 7 September 2024.
  7. ^ a b c d "Affaire des viols de Mazan : Gisèle Pélicot raconte à la barre comment son monde s'est effondré, face aux 51 accusés Victime pendant dix ans de son mari et de 50 inconnus recrutés par ce dernier sur Internet, la femme de 71 ans a témoigné pour la première fois, jeudi, devant la cour criminelle du Vaucluse". Le Monde (in French). Paris, France. Agence France-Presse. 5 September 2024. Archived from the original on 5 September 2024. Retrieved 7 September 2024.
  8. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v Porter, Catherine; Le Stradic, Ségolène (2 September 2024). "France Confronts Horror of Rape and Drugging Case as 51 Men Go on Trial". The New York Times. New York, USA. Archived from the original on 2 September 2024. Retrieved 7 September 2024.
  9. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o Sarrot, Aurélie (31 August 2024). "Vaucluse : 51 hommes jugés à partir de lundi pour avoir violé une mère de famille droguée par son mari". TF1 (in French). Paris, France. Archived from the original on 5 September 2024. Retrieved 6 September 2024.
  10. ^ a b Samuel, Henry (23 June 2023). "Chatroom where husband is accused of recruiting predators to rape his wife is still online". The Daily Telegraph. London, UK. Archived from the original on 11 December 2023. Retrieved 6 September 2024.
  11. ^ a b c d e f g h i j Willsher, Kim (2 September 2024). "Man accused of enlisting strangers to rape drugged wife goes on trial in France Dominique Pélicot, 71, being tried with 50 other men over alleged abuse of woman for years at couple's Provence home". The Guardian. London, UK. Archived from the original on 7 September 2024. Retrieved 7 September 2024.
  12. ^ a b Clarke-Billings, Lucy (2 September 2024). "Man accused of recruiting dozens of strangers to rape his wife". BBC News. London, UK. Archived from the original on 6 September 2024. Retrieved 7 September 2024.
  13. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l Schofield, Hugh (5 September 2024). "Woman describes horror of learning husband drugged her so others could rape her". BBC News. London, UK. Archived from the original on 6 September 2024. Retrieved 7 September 2024.
  14. ^ a b c ""J'étais sa chose" : comment un retraité a invité plus de 80 personnes à violer sa femme sous sédatifs pendant dix ans". La Libre Belgique (in French). Brussels, Belgium. 21 June 2023. Archived from the original on 29 June 2023. Retrieved 6 September 2024.
  15. ^ Sengupta, Trisha (6 September 2024). "Husband who 'drugged wife' allegedly invited HIV+ man to rape her over 6 times: 'He showed no pity, no pity at all'". Hindustan Times. New Delhi, India. Retrieved 6 September 2024.
  16. ^ a b Janselme, Kareen (1 September 2024). "Viols de Mazan : pourquoi le procès qui s'est ouvert ce lundi à Avignon est hors norme ?". L'Humanité (in French). Paris, France. Archived from the original on 2 September 2024. Retrieved 7 September 2024.
  17. ^ Esther, Esther (6 September 2024). "Gisele Pelicot recounts 'scenes of horror' as French trial is told husband drugged and raped her for a decade". ABC. Sydney, Australia. Archived from the original on 7 September 2024. Retrieved 7 September 2024.
  18. ^ "Vaucluse : elle raconte le calvaire de sa mère, droguée et violée à Mazan". La Provence (in French). Marseille, France. 4 April 2022. Archived from the original on 3 September 2024. Retrieved 7 September 2024.
  19. ^ "Daughter leaves French court during man's trial over recruiting dozens to rape wife". The Guardian. London, UK. Agence France-Presse. 3 September 2024. Archived from the original on 7 September 2024. Retrieved 7 September 2024.
  20. ^ Manent, Laure; Chim, Yong; Cheval, Stéphanie (6 September 2024). "Viols de Mazan : ouverture du procès, plus de 50 accusés face à la justice". France 24 (in French). Paris, France. Retrieved 7 September 2024.
  21. ^ "Viols de Mazan : 51 accusés jugés à Avignon, dont le mari qui droguait sa femme pour la soumettre à d'autres". Sud Ouest (in French). Bordeaux, France. Agence France-Presse. 30 August 2024. Archived from the original on 31 August 2024. Retrieved 7 September 2024.
  22. ^ a b c d Philips, Mélanie (4 September 2024). "Procès des viols de Mazan : auditions du mari, de la femme, de la fille, du "clone" Maréchal... les cinq temps forts à venir". France 3 Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur (in French). Paris, France: France Télévisions. Archived from the original on 5 September 2024. Retrieved 6 September 2024.
  23. ^ "Affaire des viols de Mazan : la juge ordonne le renvoi des 51 mis en examen devant la cour criminelle". Le Dauphiné libéré (in French). Grenoble, France. 27 June 2023. Archived from the original on 27 September 2023. Retrieved 7 September 2024.
  24. ^ a b Bossard, Adèle (28 June 2023). "Affaire des viols de Mazan : la juge ordonne un procès pour 51 hommes, dont 41 Vauclusiens". France Bleu (in French). Paris, France. Archived from the original on 1 September 2024. Retrieved 7 September 2024.
  25. ^ Ferhallad, Mélanie (24 July 2023). "Viols de Mazan : épouse droguée, maison de l'horreur, 51 accusés... vers un procès monstre à Avignon en 2024". La Provence (in French). Marseille, France. Archived from the original on 24 April 2024. Retrieved 7 September 2024.
  26. ^ a b c Huctin, Alexandra (2 September 2024). "Viols de Mazan : plus de 3 mois d'audience, 51 prévenus, en chiffres un procès hors norme". France 3 Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur (in French). Paris, France: France Télévisions. Archived from the original on 6 September 2024. Retrieved 7 September 2024.
  27. ^ "Procès des viols de Mazan : une décennie d'abus détaillés jusqu'à la nausée". Radio Canada (in French). Ottawa, Canada. Agence France-Presse. 3 September 2024. Archived from the original on 3 September 2024. Retrieved 7 September 2024.
  28. ^ "France trial: Woman testifies on drugging by husband, rape by 50 strangers". Al Jazeera. Doha, Qatar. 5 September 2024. Archived from the original on 6 September 2024. Retrieved 7 September 2024.
  29. ^ Vergnenegre, Annie (6 October 2023). "Affaire des viols de Mazan : ce que l'on sait sur le procès hors-norme qui se tiendra en 2024 à Avignon". France 3 Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur (in French). Paris, France: France Télévisions. Archived from the original on 14 March 2024. Retrieved 7 September 2024.
  30. ^ "Viols de Mazan : douze mises en examen confirmées". La Provence (in French). Marseille, France. 6 October 2023. Archived from the original on 11 October 2023. Retrieved 7 September 2024.
  31. ^ Knight, Camille; Miculita, Emmanuel; Baum, Caroline (3 September 2024). "Man accused of plotting wife's rape by at least 50 strangers over almost 10 years in French trial". CNN. Atlanta, USA. Archived from the original on 7 September 2024. Retrieved 7 September 2024.
  32. ^ a b Barrère, François (2 September 2024). "Affaire des viols de Mazan : la cour criminelle du Vaucluse rejette le huis clos, le procès sera public, comme le veut la victime". Midi Libre (in French). Montpellier, France. Archived from the original on 5 September 2024. Retrieved 6 September 2024.
  33. ^ a b c d Richard, Jean-Alphonse (18 January 2023). "Meurtre Sophie Narme : une énigme de 32 ans bientôt résolue ?". RTL (in French). Paris, France. Archived from the original on 27 September 2023. Retrieved 6 September 2024.
  34. ^ "Meurtre et tentative de viol : ce que l'on sait du retraité mis en examen dans deux « cold cases »". Ouest-France (in French). Rennes, France. 16 January 2023. Archived from the original on 21 January 2023. Retrieved 7 September 2023.
  35. ^ a b "Vaucluse : un sexagénaire accusé d'avoir drogué sa femme pour la livrer à des dizaines de violeurs". Marie Claire (in French). Paris, France. LR Médias. 10 May 2023. Archived from the original on 25 September 2023. Retrieved 6 September 2024.
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