Content warning: Distressing content
Rape victim-survivor Gisèle Pelicot has said she plans to visit her abusive former husband in jail to “get answers” about new allegations against him.
Dominique Pelicot was sentenced to 20 years in jail for drugging and inviting dozens of men to rape his then-wife.
Dominique and Gisèle’s daughter has also accused him of rape, and he is being investigated as a suspect in the rape and murder of a 23-year-old woman in 1991.
Dominique denies these allegations.
Background
In 2020, Dominique was caught filming up women’s skirts at a supermarket in southeastern France.
When police searched his devices, they found 20,000 images of men raping his wife Gisèle, who was unconscious.
When Gisèle was brought in for questioning, she told police she had no memory of the rapes and did not recognise any of the men in the images shown to her.
Dominique pleaded guilty to all the charges against him, including aggravated rape and drugging.
He told the court he put sleeping pills into his wife’s meals to sedate her before raping her.
While Gisèle was unconscious, Dominique invited men to the couple’s home to rape her.
Many pleaded not guilty, alleging Dominique misled them into believing they were participating in a consensual role-playing scenario.
All of the men on trial were found guilty.
Dominique received the maximum sentence, which had been recommended by prosecutors, of 20 years. The other men were sentenced to prison terms between five and 15 years.
New interview
Gisèle has given multiple interviews in recent days to promote her book, ‘A Hymn To Life’.
Speaking to BBC Newsnight, Gisèle said she wanted visit her ex-husband in jail to get “answers”.
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New allegations
Dominique and Gisèle’s daughter Caroline Darian has accused her father of drugging and raping her.
Images of Caroline sleeping in her underwear were found on Dominique’s computer. He has given conflicting reasons for having the images.
Dominique has denied Caroline’s allegations.
In an interview with Newsnight, Gisèle said: “The incestuous look he cast on his daughter, I found utterly unbearable.”
Caroline has told media she believes she has become a “forgotten victim”.
Dominique is also being investigated for the murder of a 23-year-old woman in 1991, which has become a cold case.
He denies the allegations relating to the 1991 murder.
Gisèle told the BBC: “I dare hope he is not the perpetrator of this heinous crime, because otherwise it would once again be a descent into hell, both for me and for his children.”
Dominique has also admitted to the attempted rape of a woman in 1999.
He admitted to the crime in 2022, but it fell under the statute of limitations, stopping him from being prosecuted because too much time had passed.
If Dominique were to be linked to another cold case, however, such as the 1991 rape and murder, the attempted rape case could be re-opened.
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