‘I am a rapist like them’: Husband admits to inviting 50 men to rape his drugged wife
Dominique Pelicot is on trial, along with 50 co-accused, for the mass rape of his wife over 10 years.
FILE: Gisèle Pelicot (L), flanked by her lawyer Stephane Babonneau (R), leave the Avignon courthouse during the trial of her former partner Dominique Pelicot (not pictured) accused of drugging her for nearly ten years and inviting strangers to rape her at their home. Picture: Christophe SIMON / AFP
Adam Gilchrist joins Bongani Bingwa.
Listen below.
Dominique Pelicot (71) is accused of drugging his wife, Gisèle Pelicot, and recruiting over 50 men to rape her over ten years.
In his first testimony, he admitted to all charges against him and said every co-defendant knew what they were doing and could not say otherwise.
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Only 15 of the 50 defendants admitted to rape, BBC reports.
Pelicot had thousands of videos of men abusing his unconscious wife, which helped the police track down the other accused.
He says the men approached him on a now-closed chatroom called ‘Without Her Knowledge’, asking if they could come to assault her.
He adds that every single person knew she was not conscious or consenting, and no one was forced or manipulated into harming her.
He begged his wife and family for forgiveness, saying she did not deserve this.
“This trial has ignited a whole national conversation in France about marital rape, consent, chemical submission; it is quite a thing.”
- Adam Gilchrist
Gisèle Pelicot has waived her right to anonymity and asked for the trial to be public.
Scroll up to the audio player to listen to the interview.