OAP who drugged wife so 72 could rape her dodges trial after ‘fainting’ in cell as lawyer insists illness isn’t a ‘ploy’

THE French pensioner who confessed to recruiting men to rape his sedated wife has again dodged giving evidence in court after he was found “fainting” in his prison cell.

Dominique Pelicot , 71, was supposed to be grilled on Wednesday at the shocking Avignon trial , where is one of 51 defendants.

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But he was rushed out of the courthouse just before proceedings were meant to kick off.

His defence lawyer, Beatrice Zavarro, called for a full medical examination, saying: “I met Mr Pelicot lying down in prison.

“He had vomited, had fainting spells, and had pain in his kidneys.

“Physically, he is here, but probably not in a fit state to take part in the proceedings in a calm manner.”

Pelicot and the 50 others could be thrown behind bars for up to 20 years, having been charged with “aggravated rape” of Gisèle Pelicot , also 71, over almost a decade.

Yesterday he was taken to hospital just hours before he was due to testify.

He returned to court Wednesday with his lawyer insisting a hospital dash was no “ploy”.

Zavarro said he’d been suffering from abdominal pain and had trouble going to the toilet since Friday.

He briefly turned up on Wednesday with his left hand supporting his head as he slumped against the side of a gallery, looking around the court with a vacant expression.

Within minutes, Judge Roger Arata called for Pelicot to leave as onlookers shook their heads in disbelief.

Zavarro on Tuesday said her client’s dash to hospital wasn’t a sly ploy to slip away from being grilled in court.

She said: “I heard things this morning in the courtroom suggesting that obviously his absence would be on purpose: No way.

“Let’s be clear about this. Monsieur Pelicot has not shirked (the proceedings) and will not be shirking.

“He will be here. He will reply to all the questions, but he can’t control what happens to his body.

“He didn’t plan to be ill. He is not a robot.”

Arata said Pelicot could take the stand “in intervals” over the coming days, with other witnesses to be heard in the meantime.

Prosecutors have said that between 2011-2020, the retired electrician crushed drugs into Gisele’s food and drink , putting her to sleep.

Cops say he then invited more than 70 men to come and rape her on camera over the 10-year period.

Police found documents containing thousands of images and video in a horror folder he labelled “abuses”.

Within the document were sub-folders dedicated to each of the men who came and they were labelled with nicknames, helping cops identify them.

Monster of Avignon: The case that shocked France

BY Juliana Cruz Lima, Foreign News Reporter

FRENCH pensioner Dominique Pélicot is on trial accused of drugging his wife and allowing 72 strangers to rape her.

The 71-year-old allegedly invited the men he met online to assault his wife Gisele Pélicot, 72, after slipping Lorazepam into her food to knock her out.

He is said to have then filmed the horrid attacks over nine years between 2011 and 2020.

After being married for two years since meeting in 1971, the pair went on to have three children together.

When the family moved to Mazan two years later, the horrific campaign of alleged sexual abuse directed by Pélicot is believed to have started in 2011 while they were residing close to Paris.

Cops launched an investigation When a security officer discovered the pensioner secretly recording three women’s skirts in a shopping centre in September 2020.

On his computer, hundreds of images and videos of his wife—mostly in the foetal position and clearly unconscious—were discovered, according to the police.

The pictures allegedly depicted numerous rapes that took place at the couple’s house in Mazan, a 6,000-person hamlet in Provence some 20 miles from Avignon.

Investigators also discovered talks on a website called coco.fr, which the police have since taken down, where he allegedly invited strangers to his house so he could have sex with his wife.

Investigators were then informed by Pélicot that he had given his wife strong tranquillizers, including the anxiety-relieving medication Temesta.

Prosecutors claim that the husband participated in the rapes, recorded them, and used degrading language to encourage the other men.

He described at earlier hearings the many measures he used to keep his wife and family from learning of his terrible activities.

Dominique Pélicot is also accused of a 1991 murder and rape, both of which he denies, and a 1999 attempted rape, which he acknowledged following DNA testing.

Although examinations published in court documents reportedly found that the man had a need to feel ‘all-powerful’ over the female body, experts said the man did not appear to be mentally ill.

The shocking trial is due to last until December 20.

Zavarro previously said Pelicot “recognises what he did and there has not been an ounce of protest since the beginning.”

He has “always declared himself guilty”, the lawyer has said.

The 50 others are made up of truck drivers, soldiers, carpenters, a prison guard, a nurse, an IT expert and local journalist.

They are aged between 26 and 74, with most accused of raping her just once, but a handful are charged with multiple counts.

Some have claimed they thought they were simply helping the couple live out some sort of twisted fantasy.

Gisele had no memory of being raped, and has spoken of her shock when police showed her pictures and video.

On Friday, Mr Pelicot’s own daughter described him as “one of the greatest sexual predators” of recent years.

Caroline Darian, 46 said he secretly photographed her in the nude, along with her two sister-in-laws.

This was at the same family home in Mazan, about 20 miles from Avignon.

Cops started probing Pelicot when he was caught trying to film up girls’ skirts in supermarkets.

In a separate case, Pelicot has been charged with raping and murdering a 23-year-old estate agent in Paris in 1991.

He has admitted one attempted rape in 1999, after DNA testing proved a case against him.

The Avignon aggravated rape case continues, and is due to last until December 21.

Fourteen of the other defendants have admitted rape, while the rest deny any wrongdoing.

How you can get help

Women’s Aid has this advice for victims and their families:

• Always keep your phone nearby.
• Get in touch with charities for help, including the Women’s Aid live chat helpline and services such as SupportLine.
• If you are in danger, call 999.
• Familiarise yourself with the Silent Solution, reporting abuse without speaking down the phone, instead dialing “55”.
• Always keep some money on you, including change for a pay phone or bus fare.
• If you suspect your partner is about to attack you, try to go to a lower-risk area of the house – for example, where there is a way out and access to a telephone.
• Avoid the kitchen and garage, where there are likely to be knives or other weapons. Avoid rooms where you might become trapped, such as the bathroom, or where you might be shut into a cupboard or other small space.

If you are a ­victim of domestic abuse, SupportLine is open Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday from 6pm to 8pm on 01708 765200. The charity’s email support ­service is open weekdays and weekends during the crisis – messageinfo@supportline.org.uk .

Women’s Aid provides a live chat service – available weekdays from 8am-6pm and weekends 10am-6pm.

You can also call the freephone 24-hour ­National Domestic Abuse Helpline on 0808 2000 247.

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