Dominique Pélicot is charged with intoxicating his wife Gisèle and arranging for the ass*ult of her by dozens of men over a period of almost ten years.
Key Takeaways
- The authorities revealed to the wife that she had endured a decade of abuse after uncovering evidence of se*ual ass*ult during their investigation.
- Gisèle and Dominique were together since she was 18.
- Gisèle Pélicot, 72, gave up her legal right to remain anonymous.
Gisèle Pelicot, a 72-year-old French woman, is the wife of Dominique Pelicot.
She spent two decades as a manager for a corporation in Paris, providing a steady income for her family.
After retiring, Gisèle and Dominique moved to Mazan, a small village northeast of Avignon, where they settled into a home with a large garden and swimming pool.
When they married in 1973, Gisèle had no idea that her husband would later reveal himself as a monster.
Over the years, Gisèle began losing her hair and weight, and her family and friends grew concerned that she might have Alzheimer’s.
She started losing track of entire days and often appeared to be in a dreamlike state.
In late 2020, Gisèle was summoned to a police station in southern France, where she uncovered a horrifying truth.
Her husband, Dominique, had been arrested in 2020 for filming up women’s skirts, leading to the discovery of even more heinous crimes.
During the investigation, authorities revealed to Gisèle that she had been subjected to ten years of abuse.
They uncovered evidence that Dominique had been sexually assaulting her by drugging her food and drink with sleeping pills.
Even more shocking, he had invited multiple men to assault her while filming the incidents, which had gone on for nearly a decade.
For the next two years, the police identified and prosecuted additional suspects using the man’s photographs, videos, and online messages.
Although around eighty individuals were implicated in this horrific crime—including journalists, masons, firefighters, gardeners, prison guards, and soldiers—only 51 men, including Dominique Pelicot, were brought to trial in Avignon on September 2.
The accused ranged in age from 26 to 73 years old.
This case shocked France, drawing national attention to the use of dru*s in se*ual ass*ult cases and the broader culture that enables such heinous crimes.
Gisèle and Dominique had been together since she was 18, making the revelation of his monstrous acts even more horrifying for her.
Reflecting on her past with him, Gisèle had previously told the police,
“He was caring and considerate.”
Gisèle
The couple had three children: their son Florian Pélicot, a singer and songwriter; their daughter Caroline Darian, an author; and another son whose name remains unknown.
Until the truth came to light, the family had lived what they believed to be a happy life, entirely unaware of Dominique’s actions.
The revelation of their father’s crimes left the children devastated, unable to comprehend the horrors their mother had endured.
Gisèle Pélicot, now 72, chose to waive her legal right to remain anonymous, reportedly to raise widespread awareness of her ordeal.
The incident has sparked an uproar online, with supporters rallying for justice and praising Gisèle’s incredible bravery.
In Case You Didn’t Know
- Caroline Darian, published a book about the case against her father in 2022, titled “And I Stopped Calling You Papa.”
- Dominique is a trained electrician, an entrepreneur and an avid cyclist.
- Her husband is also being investigated in the r*pe and m*rder of a 23-year-old woman in 1991 and the attempted r*pe of a 19-year-old in 1999.
