Devastated grandmother Gisele Pelicot finally reached her breaking point and walked out of the Avignon court mid-trial on Wednesday.
Gisele, 72, has been forced to relive a decade of abuse at the hands of her ex-husband Dominique Pelicot, and 49 other alleged rapists, in the mass abuse trial that has been going on in the French city since early September.
Dominique has already admitted to drugging his ex-wife, allowing dozens of men to rape her while she slept and filming the abuse for his own enjoyment.
Since the beginning of the trial, Gisele has been seen as a symbol of strength who has not wavered even once while being forced to listen to the testimonies of those accused of raping her.
But the testimony of one man, Vincent C., seemed too much for the septuagenarian, who had to leave with the help of a psychologist.
Vincent C., a carpenter described by Le Monde as “alcoholic, marijuana smoker, occasional cocaine user and already convicted of domestic violence”, denied the charge of aggravated rape, but admitted having had sexual relations with her.
Gisele Pelicot (pictured) has been forced to relive a decade of abuse at the hands of her ex-husband Dominique Pelicot and 49 other alleged rapists.
Dominique (pictured) has already admitted to knocking his wife Gisele unconscious and then inviting dozens of men to rape her.
Dominique Pelicot arrives at court on the morning of October 3
He told the court how he visited the famous coco.fr forum that Dominque Pelicot used to organize the mass rapes: ‘It was very quick. I logged on and half an hour later they made an appointment.’
Gisele left immediately after he complained about how few “options” he had when it came to opportunities to have sex with people using the forum: “It’s not a supermarket either, huh, Coco!”
Despite this, he visited Mazan’s home at least twice, according to Dominique’s meticulously kept files: once on October 27, 2019, and again on January 11, 2020.
When asked why he didn’t question what Dominique was setting up, Vincent C. said, “I was looking for a damn friend.” I don’t think about moments like that.
He added that he believed Dominique’s invitation to rape his wife was the same as being invited by her as well.
A woman holds a sign that reads, “Victim, we believe rapist, we see you,” during a silent march in support of Gisele Pelicot.
People take part in a march in and around Mazan, southeastern France, to support Gisele Pelicot and protest against violence against women, on October 5, 2023.
‘When the husband tells me: ‘She’s gone to bed, we’re going to wake her up,’ that takes my mind off the issue of consent,” she said.
When asked if he knew proxy consent didn’t exist, he simply said: “At the time, I thought it satisfied the couple more than it actually did.”
The mass trial, expected to last until the end of the year, continues.
Dominique has already admitted knocking his wife Gisele unconscious and then inviting dozens of men to rape her in a decade-long campaign of abuse.
She has bravely waived her right to anonymity to unmask the alleged perpetrators of a case that has shocked the world.
People take part in a march in support of rape victim Gisele Pelicot on October 5, 2024 in Mazan, France.
A banner reading “support Gisele” placed on the walls of Avignon on October 10, 2024.
Over the past four weeks, French people have come out in droves to support her, with many organizing protests across the country.
One was held in Mazan, Gisele’s hometown, where hundreds of people marched through the city in support of her.
At the trial in Avignon, man after man claimed that Pelicot had “tricked” them into participating in his twisted fantasies of raping and humiliating his wife, many of which were filmed.
Pelicot enjoyed watching strangers abuse his wife and made home movies and took photographs.
The vile attacks were only discovered when he was caught making women’s skirts in a local supermarket, and a subsequent police search of his home revealed thousands of photographs of his wife in a computer file marked “Abuse”.