Trial suspended after OAP who recruited 72 men online to rape sedated wife claims to be ill & suffering intense ‘pain’

2 months ago 3

ARTICLE AD BOX

THE trial of a French pensioner who recruited 72 men online to rape his drugged wife was dramatically suspended today after he claimed to be suffering from intense pain.

Dominique Pélicot, 71, and 51 other men face up to 20 years in prison if found guilty following a trial at Vaucluse Criminal Court, in Avignon.

a group of people posing for a picture with their faces blurred

Dominique Pélicot was set to take the stand today at his own trial[/caption]

a woman taking a picture of another woman with a phone that says ama

a woman in a white top is walking with a man in a blue shirt

Son Florian Pélicot (L) and daughter Caroline Darian (R) arriving in court on Tuesday for their father’s trial before it was suspended[/caption]

a man wearing sunglasses and a blue sweater with the word lacoste on it

Their brother David Pélicot was also attending the now-suspended trial[/caption]

Retired electrician Pélicot was expected to be cross-examined this afternoon.

But before proceedings were due to get underway, presiding judge Roger Arata said Pélicot claimed to be “suffering with pain” in his intestines first reported on Monday.

“He had samples taken yesterday for analysis,” said the Judge.

“Medical staff do not have the results. Mr Pélicot is still ill. I will be receiving emergency updates throughout the day.”

Calling a temporary halt to proceedings, Judge Arata even suggested that he was considering “a suspension of the trial lasting several days”.

Pélicot was not seen in court on Monday, but his lawyers insisted he wanted to be there.

Béatrice Zavarro, a member of his defence counsel, said: “He assured me he wanted to be here, and that he does not intend to flee.

“Since the beginning, he has told me that he has been waiting for this trial.

“Since the beginning, he has told me that he will explain himself.”

His two sons, David and Florian Pélicot, were also expected in court today after having reportedly taken the stand yesterday.

Pélicot’s daughter, Caroline Darian, 46, already took the stand and described her father as “one of the greatest sexual predators” in recent years.

Caroline was herself secretly photographed in the nude by her father, as were her two sister-in-laws while taking a bath, it emerged in court.

She also revealed the shocking moment her mum first told her of the harrowing ordeal.

The court case has been shocking France over the past week after Gisele Pélicot, 72, waived her legal right to anonymity last Monday at the opening of her husband Dominique’s trial.

He allegedly invited 72 men he met online to assault his wife after slipping an anxiety medication into her food to knock her out.

He is said to have then filmed the horrid attacks over almost a decade between 2011 and 2020.

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.

‘JEKYLL AND HYDE’

This week, a psychologist told the court that Pélicot was having difficulty adjusting to life in jail and that he was targeting his daughter Caroline, who claimed her father had drugged her and taken unseen pictures of her naked.

Dr Paul Bensussan said: “[Pélicot ] is overwhelmed by his current situation. But his anger is greater than his sadness.

“His anger is mostly directed at his daughter Caroline because of the book that she has written, entitled; ‘And I Stopped Calling You Dad’.”

Upon interviewing with additional psychologists and detectives after his arrest in September 2020, Pélicot said the criminal allegations against him had “ruined his life” and that he and his wife might have carried on leading a “happily” fulfilling existence.

Pélicot’s daughter last week took the stand to slam her father and reveal the sexual violence she faced at his hand.

Psychologists testifying on Monday also dubbed the sick man “Jekyll and Hyde” after claiming he has a split personality.

A report submitted to the court suggested Pélicot displayed a tendency towards “paraphilia” – sexual arousal in atypical situations – and also “somnophilia”– an attraction to unconscious partners.

This made him a “very caring and much-loved husband by day” but “a rapist at night”, psychologist Bruno Daunizeau explained in the report.

The court heard how Pélicot considered himself a “good husband” to the woman he married in 1971 and had three children with.

He said he was “respectful of his wife’s desires and refusals to sex”, but “also had fantasies about swinging” and “got pleasure” in seeing his wife “undergo sexual acts that she normally refused”.

Ms Daunizeau also revealed that Pélicot maintains the sickening abuse of his wife would have continued if he had not been arrested – and complained that his life had been ruined by the criminal charges brought against him.

Meanwhile, another psychologist Marianne Douteau told the court that Mr Pélicot still felt his life could have carried on as normal, despite the crimes he has admitted to.

She said that Pélicot “complained that this criminal case against him has destroyed his life”.

Pélicot is said to have claimed: “Gisèle would not have known anything, we would have continued to be happy.”

The sick husband previously told psychologists he spiked his wife’s food to knock her out after she refused to try swinging.

a woman wearing a necklace with a coin on it

Psychologists told the court that Dominique was having difficulty adjusting to life in jail and that he was targeting his daughter Caroline (pictured)[/caption]