A rape suspect says he had sex with the drugged wife of the Monster of Avignon despite finding it “unusual” that she snored after her husband had sex with her in front of him and then told her to “try it”

The youngest man accused of raping a French woman who had been drugged by her husband told a court today that he found it “unusual” that she “snored” when he had sex with her.

Joan Kawai, 26, was arrested at the barracks where he served in the French army after his details were found on devices police discovered at Dominique Pelicot’s home.

The 71-year-old, nicknamed the Monster of Avignon, is accused of drugging his unsuspecting wife Gisele, also 71, over nearly a decade so that dozens of men could rape and abuse her.

Kawai, one of 50 men on trial alongside the retired electrician, was driven to the house in Mazan in November 2019 after being picked up by Mr Pelicot as he was not driving.

The soldier told the court he saw Pelicot having sex with his sleeping wife and that once he was done, he told her to “try it.” Kawai said he noticed she “seemed to be snoring.”

Kawai told the court he had met Pelicot through the now-closed swingers website Coco.fr and had sent the pensioner pictures of his penis.

“He said he was looking for someone who could please his wife,” Kawai said.

‘When we spoke, I got the impression that she was okay with it, as she was with him and told him it wouldn’t be her first time.

‘When I arrived I was told to wash my hands, I undressed in the hallway and we had a glass of whiskey. I was told to warm my hands on the radiator.

‘We went into the bedroom, Mrs. Pelicot was on the bed, she was naked from the waist down, he had sex first, then he told me and gave me instructions.

“What wasn’t normal was that he snored.”

During questioning by one of Ms Pelicot’s lawyers, Stéphane Babonneau, Kawai was reminded of his oath as a soldier and that he had “enlisted to defend and protect others”.

He was asked: “So at what point do you ask Dominique Pelicot why his wife sleeps like that?”

Kawai replied: “As the snoring got louder and louder, he told me he was taking sleeping pills and I found that creepy.”

‘I asked him if that was normal the second time I came back, but he didn’t answer me.

“That worried me. I should have reported that there was shady stuff going on in the house.”

Judge Roger Arata asked Kawai if he had “considered consent.”

He replied, “I didn’t ask myself that question,” to which the judge replied, “That answers my question.”

Kawai said he “acknowledged the facts” of what happened between him and Ms Pelicot, but insisted that he “did not rape her”.

Returning to the issue of consent, the judge asked: “Do you think a husband can consent on behalf of his wife?” Kawai replied: “I don’t think so.”

The judge then read testimony describing the video showing Kawai and Ms. Pelicot in terms too graphic to report, and her appearing upset as she listened and leaned on her son David for support.

At one point, even the judge seemed to have difficulty reading the narrative testimony and his voice cracked several times.

The court heard that Kawai had been to the house twice and that a third visit had been cancelled.

Kawai added: “I didn’t feel good, I didn’t get any pleasure, he told me he had given his wife sleeping pills.”

The 26-year-old was born in Guyana but moved to the Vaucluse region of France as a teenager and was just 23 when he was arrested.

She first went to the house in November 2019, the day her daughter was born.

He then returned again and admits having planned a third visit, which Dominique Pelicot cancelled at the last minute.

Before investigators, he first stated that he had not asked whether Mrs. Pelicot had given her consent.

Later, in front of the photographs, he admitted that she was unconscious.

The trial continues.