The wife of the man dubbed the Monster of Avignon bravely sat in court as a graphic video of her horrific ordeal was screened on Thursday.
Mother-of-three Gisele Pelicot, 71, insisted the images be shown when asked by Judge Roger Arata if she was happy for them to be displayed.
Her only proviso was that the public were cleared from an adjoining room.
Mrs Pelicot, who has waived her anonymity, wanted her daughter Caroline to leave but she remained next to her defiantly – with her mother telling the court: “I wanted this trial to be public, I didn’t want it to be in the public square.”
Police and court officials in the historic town of Avignon, southern France, ordered out dozens of onlookers who have queued for seats each morning from 7am since the trial began on September 2.
The 17 graphic images showed a seminaked Mrs Pelicot in various poses and were sent to dozens of men by husband Dominique, also 71.
He is accused of drugging and raping her over a ten-year period up until 2020 at their home in nearby Marzan, while another 50 men are also accused with him.
Pelicot has admitted he was a “rapist just like the others in the room” as he described how he had sedated and offered his wife up out of “idle boredom” after retiring.
As the still images flashed on screen, Mrs Pelicot looked up and quickly turned away while the remainder of those in the court sat in hushed silence.
Earlier, another of the accused, Lionel Rodriguez, 43, offered his apologies.
The father of three told Mrs Pelicot: “I never wanted to hurt you but I did. I want to ask for forgiveness. It’s horrible to think I am part of this nightmare.”
Mrs Pelicot, just feet away, simply stared at him and remained emotionless.
Rodriguez admitted in court that he had raped Mrs Pelicot on December 2, 2018, though he said that had not been his intention.
“Since I never obtained Mrs Pelicot’s consent, I have no choice but to accept the facts,” he said.
Rodriguez told the court that he had made contact on a libertine website with Pelicot, who suggested he have sex with his wife.
Rodriguez, who was active in the swinger scene at the time, said Pelicot’s explanations were “not very clear”, but he believed he was participating in a game.
“There was talk of medical drugs. Sometimes of her taking them, and sometimes of him administering them to her,” he said.
Pelicot sent him pictures of his wife naked in the couple’s garden, he said, adding: “I never imagined that she might not be part of this game. That was my first huge error.”
After arriving at the couple’s home, Rodriguez entered the bedroom where Mrs Pelicot was lying unconscious.
“I followed his [Dominique Pelicot’s] directions, he became very pushy,” he said.
At one point, Mrs Pelicot began to move. “He told me to leave the room, and that’s when I realised that something was wrong,” he said.
Rodriguez, who spent 12 months in detention during the pre-trial investigation and is now divorced, said his own life had “also been destroyed”.
Pelicot later argued in court that he had never forced anyone.
“He’s repenting, but it’s perhaps a little late,” he said, referring to Rodriguez.
Another man allegedly recruited by Pelicot, Jacques C, 72, denied in his testimony the accusations of rape and insisted he had just touched Mrs Pelicot.
Seventeen men are in custody, as is Pelicot, but 32 other defendants are attending as free men.
One co-defendant, still at large, is being tried in absentia. The trial continues.
Source Agencies
