Gisèle Pelicot was drugged by her husband and raped by around 50 men over the course of around 10 years. One of the defendants in the case gave testimony this Thursday morning.
The first of the 50 men accused of raping Gisèle Pelicot, who was constantly drugged by her own husband, spoke this Thursday, September 19, before the Avignon Court in France, saying that he thought his wife was "playing along".
Lionel Rodriguez, 43, was brought before the judge for raping Gisèle. The suspect met Pelicot online in 2018, when he shared his sexual fantasies with her before inviting him to commit the crimes at his family home, reports the Daily Mail.
"It was my biggest mistake, from the beginning, not to have asked to speak to Gisèle, but I thought, I was convinced that I was in on the game, I didn't question it. Pelicot sent me pictures of Gisèle naked in the garden, but she was awake, and that made me think she was okay with it," Lionel began by saying.
"He talked about pills, but it was not clear whether he was giving them to her or whether she was taking them," he added.
Also in his testimony, the defendant admitted guilt and recounted how the encounter happened, revealing that, upon arrival, Gisèle was lying on the bed, naked and appeared to be asleep.
"[Dominique] Pelicot told me to lie down next to her and I caressed her, penetrated her, but during the act, I slipped and he forced me to leave the room because she moved," Lionel reported. "I never intended to, but since I never had Gisèle Pelicot's consent, I can only state the facts," he lamented.
"I did what he told me to do and he was very directive. I don't make excuses. I really lost my temper," he added.
The defendant - described by international agencies as a supermarket employee and father of three - also said that his wife had separated from him after his involvement in the case was reported and he went directly to Gisèle to apologize.
"I never wanted to hurt her, but I did hurt her and I want to apologize. I can imagine her nightmare, it's horrible to think that I'm part of that nightmare. My apologies won't change anything, but I wanted to tell her anyway," the man said.
The woman, who was sitting a few meters away from him, simply looked at him and remained emotionless.
It is worth remembering that Gisèle Pelicot was drugged by her husband and raped by around 50 men over the course of around 10 years, while he filmed the abuse. The case is shocking France.
Lionel's lawyers and the other defendants claim that everyone was under the impression that Gisèle was her husband's accomplice and participated in the sexual acts voluntarily.
Dominique spoke in court for the first time on Tuesday, admitting that he was "a rapist" and that his wife "didn't deserve this".
Dominique Pelicot apologised to his wife and repeatedly said that he had not touched anyone else in his family: not his children or his grandchildren.
According to the Daily Mail, it all started after he retired. It was at that time that, because he "had nothing to do", he started looking at pornographic websites, where he came across a case of a man who drugged his wife and raped her.
The trial in the case is expected to last until December and the accused could face sentences of up to 20 years in prison for aggravated rape.
