AVIGNON, France (AP) 鈥� A 71-year-old French man acknowledged in court on Tuesday that over nearly a decade, he was drugging his wife at the time and inviting , as well as raping her himself. He pleaded with her, and their three children, for forgiveness.
鈥淭oday I maintain that, along with the other men here, I am a rapist,鈥� Dominique P茅licot told the court. 鈥淭hey knew everything. They can鈥檛 say otherwise.鈥�
Dominique P茅licot's testimony is the most important moment so far in a trial that has shocked and gripped France, and raised new awareness about sexual violence. Many also hope his testimony will shed some light 鈥� to try to understand the unthinkable.
While he previously confessed to investigators, the court testimony will be crucial for the panel of judges to decide on the fate of some 50 other men standing trial alongside him. Many deny having raped Gis猫le P茅licot, saying they were manipulated by her then-husband or claiming they believed she was consenting.
Gis猫le P茅licot has become a symbol of the in France for agreeing to waive her anonymity in the case, letting the trial be public, and appearing openly in front of the media. She is expected to speak in court after her ex-husband鈥檚 testimony on Tuesday.
Under French law, the proceedings inside the courtroom cannot be filmed or photographed. Dominique P茅licot is brought to the court through a special entrance inaccessible for the media, because he and some other defendants are being held in custody during the trial. Defendants who are not in custody come to the trial wearing surgical masks or hoods to avoid having their faces filmed or photographed.
After days of uncertainty due to his medical state, Dominique P茅licot appeared in court Tuesday and told judges he acknowledged all the charges against him.
His much-awaited testimony was delayed by days after he fell ill, suffering from a kidney stone and urinary infection, his lawyers said.
Seated in a wheelchair, P茅licot spoke to the court for an hour, from his early life to years of abuse against his now ex-wife.
Expressing remorse, his voice trembling and at times barely audible, he sought to explain events that he said scarred his childhood and planted the seed of vice in him.
鈥淥ne is not born a pervert, one becomes a pervert,鈥� P茅licot told judges, after recounting, sometimes in tears, being raped by a male nurse in hospital when he was 9 years old and then being forced to take part in a gang rape at age 14.
P茅licot also spoke of the trauma endured when his parents took a young girl in the family, and witnessing his father鈥檚 inappropriate behavior toward her.
鈥淢y father used to do the same thing with the little girl,'' he said. 鈥淎fter my father鈥檚 death, my brother said that men used to come to our house.鈥�
At 14, he said, he asked his mother if he could leave the house, but 鈥渟he didn鈥檛 let me.鈥�
鈥淚 don鈥檛 really want to talk about this, I am just ashamed of my father. In the end, I didn鈥檛 do any better,'' he said.
Asked about his feelings toward his wife, P茅licot said she did not deserve what he did.
鈥淔rom my youth, I remember only shocks and traumas, forgotten partly thanks to her. She did not deserve this, I acknowledge it,鈥� he said in tears.
At that moment, Gis猫le P茅licot, standing across the room, facing him across a group of dozens of defendants sitting in between them, put her sunglasses back on.
Later, Dominique P茅licot said, 鈥淚 was crazy about her. She replaced everything. I ruined everything.鈥�
A security agent caught P茅licot in 2020 filming videos under women鈥檚 skirts in a supermarket, according to court documents. Police searched P茅licot鈥檚 house and electronic devices, and found thousands of photos and videos of men engaging in sexual acts with Gis猫le P茅licot while she appears to lie unconscious on their bed.
With the recordings, police were able to track down a majority of the 72 suspects they were seeking.
Gis猫le P茅licot and her husband of 50 years had three children. When they retired, the couple left the Paris region to move into a house in Mazan, a small town in Provence.
When police officers called her in for questioning in late 2020, she initially told them her husband was 鈥渁 great guy,鈥� according to legal documents. They then showed her some photos. She left her husband and they are now divorced.
He faces 20 years in prison if convicted. Besides P茅licot, 50 other men, aged 26 to 74, are standing trial.
Bernadette Tessoni猫re, a 69-year-old retiree who lives a half-hour drive from Avignon, where the trial is taking place, arrived outside the courthouse at 7:15 a.m. to make sure she would secure a seat in the closely watched case.
鈥淗ow is it possible that in 50 years of communal life, one can live next to someone who hides his life so well? This is scary,鈥� she said, while standing in a line outside the courthouse. 鈥淚 don鈥檛 have much hope that what he did can be explained, but he is at least going to give some elements.鈥�
Diane Jeantet, The Associated Press
