Wife Betrayed By Husband: For the first time in a trial that has stunned the world, a 71-year-old mother of three described how she was left devastated by the ultimate betrayal from a man she had believed was kind and well-meaning throughout their 51-year marriage.
For nearly a decade, 71-year-old retired electrician Dominique Pelicot invited strangers to have sex with his wife, Gisele, while she was drugged and helpless at their home in a small town in southern France. The powerful sedatives mixed into her meals caused Gisele severe memory loss, making her think she had Alzheimer’s.
Victim Discovers Betrayal By Husband
She only learned about the men who abused her after the police discovered her husband’s hidden crimes. Yesterday, dressed in red, Gisele looked at her unemotional husband and said, “My husband sacrificed me for these awful acts.”
“I broke down in tears,” Gisele said, describing how she felt like a lifeless object who was drugged and abused. She felt as though she had been treated like an inanimate object.
14 Men Admit To Abusing Her, One Had HIV
One of the men who had sex with Gisele without her knowing risked her life because he had HIV.
Gisele’s husband, whom she is divorcing, has admitted to rape, as have 13 other men. However, 35 defendants deny the charges, and one is still at large. The total number of attackers is believed to be 83, but the two-year investigation hasn’t identified all of them.
The accused, ranging in age from 21 to 68, include a councillor, nurse, firefighter, IT worker, prison guard, and journalist. Due to the large number of defendants, the trial is being held in a converted exhibition center in Avignon and will continue until December 20. There isn’t enough space in the dock for all the accused, so those not in custody sit in the gallery among the public.
Pelicot To Serve 20 Years In Jail
Pelicot is in prison and is expected to receive a 20-year sentence. The trial and Pelicot’s name only became public due to Gisele’s bravery.
Gisele chose to reveal her identity and rejected requests from both the prosecution and defense to keep the trial private from journalists and the public. She wanted to expose the issue of men drugging women before sex.
Some accused men argued that they thought it was acceptable because it involved his wife, so he could do whatever he wanted with her. Another claimed he thought it was legal because it was recorded on video.
The first clue that something was wrong appeared when Gisele started losing hair and weight. She began forgetting entire days and jokingly asked her husband if he was drugging her. He responded tearfully, saying, “Do you really think I could do that?”
The couple visited her doctor, who suggested that Gisele might have experienced a “brain seizure.”
The truth came out only four years ago after Pelicot was arrested in September 2020 for filming up women’s skirts in a Carpentras supermarket, not far from their home in Mazan. This arrest ended a period of abuse that had been going on since 2011.
When police seized Pelicot’s phone and laptop, they found 20,000 videos and photos. Many were stored in a folder named “abuse,” showing various men sexually assaulting Gisele while she was unconscious. Among the accused were Thierry Postat, a 61-year-old fridge engineer, and Redouan El Farihi, a married male nurse. Postat is accused of assaulting Gisele while she was restrained, and El Farihi allegedly abused her with her husband for three hours.
Pelicot took extreme measures to keep his wife from suspecting anything. He made sure the men didn’t wear aftershave to avoid leaving a scent on her. He also had them undress in another room and made sure Gisele always woke up in her pyjamas.
Upskirting Confession Shatters 50-Year Marriage
Gisele testified that she never woke up in different clothes and now refers to her husband as “Mr. Pelicot.” She plans to return to her maiden name after the trial. The defense tried to discredit Gisele by mentioning a two-year affair she had, but she insisted that her lover was the only man she willingly slept with aside from her husband. Gisele also denied ever consenting to having sex recorded or agreeing to try alternative partners with Pelicot. She dismissed suggestions that she had consented to sex with any of the defendants, saying it was “an insult to my intelligence” and that they knew exactly how she was.
Gisele said, “I never knowingly participated in any of this.” It wasn’t until December 2020 that Pelicot admitted to her he had been caught filming upskirt videos in a supermarket.
Gisele recalled in a trembling voice that while they were in the kitchen, Pelicot broke down and cried. He confessed to filming under women’s skirts in Carpentras and said, “I’ve done something silly.” Gisele, who had never known Pelicot to take pictures of other women, forgave him because they hadn’t had problems in their 50 years together, but warned him it couldn’t happen again or she would leave.
However, Gisele couldn’t forgive him when detectives later revealed the full extent of his crimes. The grandmother shared how his horrifying actions had devastated their once-happy family.
Also Read: Fact Check: Beware Of Loan FRAUD! Fake PM Mudra Yojana Scam Uncovered; Details Inside
