The trial began on September 2.
A husband who drugged his wife before allowing dozens of men to rape her has testified in court and confessed to the crime crimes.
The Daily Star reports on this.
It has become known that 71-year-old Dominic Pelico sent out invitations to men with phrases like “you're like me – you like the rape regime.” The pensioner allegedly slipped tranquilizers into his partner's dinner, and then filmed how the men abused her in her own home for nine years.
Pelico – along with 51 other men identified on camera, including firefighters and civil servants – is now in the dock charged with aggravated rape of his wife, Gisèle Pelico, 72, who courageously waived her right to anonymity.
The tedious trial at the Vaucluse criminal court in the French city of Avignon began this week and is expected to last four months.
Who are the Pelicos
French couple Dominique and Gisèle lived in a large family chalet in Mazon after moving from Paris in 1991.
They have three children who are regular visitors and, according to court testimony, they were considered “nice people” who hosted parties in their neat garden with a swimming pool.
Pelico, a pensioner who used to work as a municipal employee, was asked by the judge on Monday, September 2, to confirm his address, to which he replied: “My house is a prison, you know.”
Rapist Gang
Between 2011 and 2020, Peliko allegedly organized a rape ring in which he carried out twisted fantasies involving his unconscious wife. Approximately 20,000 videos of her being raped by 72 strangers were later found in the home he shared with her.
He used tags like “rapists,” “abuse,” and “my slut” when storing the footage, without providing the names or details of the attackers.
They were reportedly recruited after the man approached voyeurs and swingers on an online forum called Without Her Knowing.
He allegedly imposed rules on them, including parking away from his house, not wearing perfume, cutting and cleaning their nails, and washing their hands in hot water before touching his drug-fueled wife.
His lawyer, Beatriz Zavarro, said: “He is ashamed of what he did, it is unforgivable. My client's line of conduct is that he admits what he did, and there was no protest from the beginning.”
His video footage allowed police to identify 51 of the 72 men, but others could not be identified and so escaped justice after the case was closed. The 51 people who stood trial denied any wrongdoing.
Giselle, meanwhile, knew nothing about the abuse, but she later spoke about it at a pre-trial hearing: “I feel disgusted by him. I feel dirty, defiled, betrayed. It was a tsunami. I was hit by a high-speed train.”
She also said that she tried to commit suicide several times after learning about what had been done to her.
How the crimes came to light
Giselle believed she was suffering from an illness Alzheimer's, after years of drug use before she found out she had gynecological problems.
The court heard Pelico allegedly laughed it off and implied she was cheating when she asked him: “So what do you do all day?”.
But police found out after he was caught harassing women in a supermarket in November 2020, before officers searched his home and found a USB drive titled Abuses.
Why other men are hoping for acquittal
The other men charged with aggravated rape, aged between 26 and 73, are restaurateurs, plumbers, firefighters, government employees, military personnel, and store owners.
One of them claimed to have raped the victim because he believed the sex was consensual. He said, “This is his wife, he does what he wants with her.”
But according to the victim's lawyer, having watched just one of the videos, one could see that Giselle looked “dead” and was unaware happening.
Other men listed reasons why they should not be held accountable – one of them said they did not know she was sleeping because she was lying face down.
The trial, which shocked the French public, is expected to last until December.
Recall that in the US, a teenager opened a school shooting. There are currently four dead and three dozen injured.
Related topics:
More news
