French man admits decade-long abuse of wife

Dominique Pelicot, the 71-year-old French man accused of drugging his then-wife and inviting dozens of men to rape her over a period of nearly a decade, confessed in court on Tuesday to his guilt for the various criminal charges he faces.

The white-haired grandfather appeared in the dock at the Vaucluse Criminal Court in Avignon, where he is on trial alongside 50 other men, all accused of the "aggravated rape" of his former wife, Gisele Pelicot, who is 72.

Dominique Pelicot also faces charges in the mass trial that began on Sept 2 and that is due to run until mid-December relating to various privacy breaches because of his alleged recording and disseminating of sexual images.

According to prosecutors, Pelicot, who was first arrested in 2020 after trying to film up a woman's skirt in a supermarket, offered sex with his wife online and filmed the subsequent abuse.

He is said to have sedated his wife by putting crushed sleeping tablets and Temesta – a powerful anti-anxiety drug – into her meals and drinks, reported news agencies.

"I admit to the charges in their entirety," Pelicot, told the court, adding: "I am a rapist just like all the others in this room."

He said his co-defendants "all knew" he was inviting them to rape her and added "she did not deserve this".

"I ask my wife, my children, my grandchildren to accept my apologies," he said. "I regret what I did. I ask for your forgiveness, even if it is not forgivable."

Pelicot's testimony in the case, which has stunned France, was originally scheduled for last week but was postponed due to health concerns.

Gisele Pelicot, who was present during his testimony, was given permission to react immediately to her ex-husband's confession.

She said: "It is difficult to hear from the mouth of Mr Pelicot what he has just said. For 50 years, I lived with a man who I would never have imagined for a single second that he could do these acts. I had complete confidence in this man."

Fourteen other defendants have admitted rape, while the rest deny any wrongdoing. If found guilty, they face up to 20 years in jail.

Gisele Pelicot insisted on a public trial to expose the accused and shed light on sexual violence, her lawyers said. She has become a symbol of the struggle against sexual violence in France, said Reuters news agency, with hundreds of supporters, mostly women, demonstrating across the country.

In a separate case, Dominique Pelicot faces additional charges for the alleged 1991 rape and murder of Sophie Narme, a 23-year-old estate agent in Paris. In a similar attack, a 19-year-old estate agent escaped after resisting. Police have said that DNA from blood at the scene matches Pelicot's profile.