‘I was convinced it was a game': Defendants begin testifying at Pelicot rape trial gripping France

Louis CHAHUNEAU

20 September 2024 at 3:16 am·1-min read

The trial of 51 men for the rape of Gisèle Pelicot began in earnest on Thursday as the first defendants took the stand. Their testimony included expressions of regret along with more ambiguous statements regarding their awareness of their victim’s vulnerable state. The recurring question was how the accused could not have been aware of a sleeping woman's lack of consent.

Warning: The following account of courtroom testimony includes descriptions of sexual assault that may be upsetting to some readers.

The next few weeks promise to be an ordeal for those in the Avignon courtroom where 51 men are accused of raping Gisèle Pelicot between 2011 and 2020 while she was unconscious after being drugged by her husband.

Flanked by her two lawyers, wearing thick sunglasses and accompanied by her eldest daughter Caroline Darian, Gisèle Pelicot will face her rapists for several weeks. They know her face, having been invited to rape her by her husband, Dominique Pelicot. But she herself is seeing her abusers for the first time during this extraordinary trial, which is set to run until mid-December.

On Thursday morning, a man identified only as Lionel R., 44 years old, with a deep voice and black shirt and trousers, took the witness stand before presiding judge Roger Arata.

Was he aware that he was committing a rape, he was asked?

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