# Rapes of Gisèle Pelicot

Over a period of nine years, from July 2011 to October 2020, Dominique Pelicot, a man from Mazan in south-eastern France, repeatedly drugged and raped his wife, Gisèle Pelicot, and invited at least 83 male strangers to rape her while she was unconscious. Gisèle, who was unaware of the abuse being perpetrated against her, was raped at least 92 times by no less than 72 men while her husband filmed them. The crimes were discovered in September 2020 after Dominique was arrested for taking upskirt photographs of women in a supermarket; the ensuing police investigation uncovered thousands of images and videos on his computer equipment of men raping his wife.
The trial of Dominique and 50 other men accused of rape, attempted rape or sexual assault began in Avignon on 2 September 2024, and concluded on 16 December, with verdicts delivered on 19 December. All were convicted, with Dominique receiving the maximum 20-year prison term. Dominique was also found guilty of taking indecent images of his daughter and two daughters-in-law, and the rape of the wife of co-defendant Jean-Pierre Maréchal, who was charged with drugging and raping his own wife, and not Gisèle.
Gisèle's decision to waive her right to anonymity and insistence on a public trial attracted worldwide media attention and admiration. The trial drew attention to drug-facilitated sexual assault and issues around consent.

## Background

Gisèle and Dominique Pelicot were both born in 1952, and married in 1973. Gisèle was born in the city of Villingen in West Germany to a French family. Her father was in the military and, despite losing her mother at the age of nine, she described a happy childhood. She met her husband, who she said had a tough childhood, when she was twenty. She worked in administration at the state electricity company, while Dominique worked as an electrician and an estate agent and set up a number of businesses which ultimately failed. The couple lived in the Paris area and had three children. To people who knew them, Gisèle said in court, they were a perfect family. She also said in court that she had had a three-year affair with a colleague. The couple were divorced for a short period for financial reasons before remarrying.
Gisèle was unaware that her husband had been caught upskirting women near Paris in 2010 and fined €100. In 2013 the couple retired to Mazan, Vaucluse, a small town north-east of Avignon, in south-eastern France. Gisèle joined a choir and her husband took up sport and cycling. They were visited by their children and grandchildren for holidays.

## Arrest and investigation

Dominique was arrested on 12 September 2020 after he had been apprehended by a security guard for upskirting women using his mobile phone at an E.Leclerc supermarket in Carpentras, near Mazan. He was released on bail pending investigation of his two mobile phones, laptop, and other digital equipment that had been seized at his home. Investigation of the equipment showed that he had solicited men to rape his wife on a forum called à son insu ('without her knowledge', lit. 'with her unknowing'), hosted on the coco.fr website. The website, which moved its domain registration from France to Guernsey after Dominique's arrest, was said to have been connected to more than 23,000 French criminal cases between 2021 and 2024 and was shut down in June 2024. In the chatroom, Dominique invited other men to rape his wife; Skype messages were also found in which he boasted of drugging his wife and invited strangers to rape her.
On a USB stick connected to Dominique's computer, investigators found a folder called "abuses" containing more than 20,000 images and videos of his unconscious wife being raped. The videos had been meticulously filed with explicit titles and the names of the men.
The investigators identified 92 separate incidents of rape committed on Gisèle by 72 different men between July 2011 and October 2020. It took the police two years to identify and locate 50 of the perpetrators; the rest remain unidentified. The men were aged between 21 and 68 at the time of the rapes.
Images were also found on Dominique's computer of his daughters-in-law in the shower, which had been taken with a hidden camera, and of his semi-naked daughter Caroline Darian unconscious on a bed as if she had been drugged.

## Re-arrest and confession

Dominique was re-arrested on 2 November 2020 and charged with aggravated rape, drugging, and other sexual offences. He was also accused of violating the privacy of his wife, daughter, and two daughters-in-law by covertly taking and disseminating intimate images of them. He immediately admitted his guilt.
On the same day, Gisèle was asked to attend a separate interview by the police. Questioned about her sex life, she said she had never taken part in wife swapping or threesomes. She was shown a photograph, but did not recognise the unconscious woman or the man raping her. It was only when shown further images that she recognised herself. She later testified that she had asked the police officer to stop showing her the images: "It was unbearable. I was inert, in my bed, and a man was raping me. My world fell apart."
Dominique told investigators that the abuse started after his wife had been prescribed lorazepam (Temesta), an anxiolytic drug, which caused her to be drowsy. He took advantage of this by secretly adding Temesta to his wife's food and drinks, causing her to lose consciousness. He obtained additional Temesta from his own doctor; he had been prescribed 450 pills in one year alone.
While Gisèle was unconscious, Dominique committed sexual acts, such as anal sex, which his wife had not wished to participate in. He would film the abuse, sometimes committed after he had taken Viagra, and share the videos online. He then invited men from the online chatroom to watch him abusing his wife, and on occasion to abuse her themselves. No money changed hands. The men were given strict instructions, for example, to avoid smelling of fragrance or cigarette smoke, in case it alerted Gisèle to their presence. They were not required to use condoms, and Gisèle was found to have four sexually transmitted infections after the abuse came to light. One rapist was HIV-positive when he raped Gisèle; however, he was being treated and had an undetectable viral load, so he did not expose her to the virus.
The abuse took a significant toll on Gisèle's health. She lost weight and her hair started to fall out. She experienced memory loss and at times spoke incoherently, to the extent that she worried that she might have Alzheimer's disease or a brain tumour. She visited a number of doctors, but was always accompanied by her husband, who blamed her symptoms on exhaustion caused by looking after their grandchildren. None of the doctors suspected that she was being drugged. A psychologist said that Dominique refused to accept the harm he had done, instead complaining that the trial had "destroyed his life", and that if he hadn't been arrested, he "would still be happy, and she too – everything would have continued the same way."

## Indictment and trial

On 19 June 2023, Gwenola Journot, an investigating judge from the Avignon Judicial Court, published a 370-page report indicting 51 men for rape. A 52nd suspect died of cancer before being arrested. The accused, who faced prison sentences of up to 20 years if found guilty, ranged in age from 25 to 72 and came from numerous walks of life – firefighter, IT worker, journalist, nurse, plumber, prison guard, and truck driver, with 41 of them being from Vaucluse. Many had partners and children. Most were charged with one count of rape, attempted rape or sexual assault but a few were charged with multiple offences, including in one case six counts of rape. One man was charged, not with the rape of Gisèle, but with drugging and raping his own wife. Dominique was also charged with the same offence. While 49 were charged with rape, one of the accused was charged with attempted rape and one with sexual assault. A total of 23 of the accused had previous convictions, including six for domestic violence and two for sexual violence. Some of the accused admitted their guilt, whilst others claimed that the acts were consensual, with Gisèle pretending to be asleep or agreeing to be drugged, or that her husband's consent was sufficient. Five of the men were also charged with possessing images of child sexual abuse. Twelve of the accused appealed their indictment but the Court of Appeal in Nîmes rejected the appeal on 5 October 2023.
The trial, heard by a panel of five judges led by presiding judge Roger Arata, began at the Judicial Court in Avignon on 2 September 2024 and was expected to last until 20 December 2024. At the request of Gisèle, the proceedings were held in public. Eighteen of the accused were detained, while 32 were attending the trial as free men and one was being judged in absentia. The courtroom was specially adapted to accommodate the large number of defendants and about sixty lawyers, with a separate transmission room for the press and public.
Gisèle, who was supported in court by her three children and represented by lawyers Stéphane Babonneau and Antoine Camus, testified during the first week of the trial. She explained that her world had fallen apart when the police had told her in November 2020 that she had been drugged and raped. "I was sacrificed on the altar of vice," she said. Her husband affirmed to the court that he was guilty of drugging and raping her.
On 10 September 2024, the court heard from Jean-Pierre Maréchal, the only one of the defendants who was not accused of raping or assaulting Gisèle. Instead he had been given instructions by Dominique on how to drug and rape his own wife. He had admitted the charges. Dominique travelled to Drôme a number of times between 2015 and 2020 to rape Maréchal's wife in their home.
Dominique gave evidence in court for the first time on 17 September. He admitted his guilt, as he had done since his arrest in November 2020, saying "I am a rapist like the others in this room." He asked his family for forgiveness. He recounted a traumatic childhood and told how he was raped by a male nurse when he was nine years old. He said he had always loved his wife and had felt suicidal when he discovered she had been having an affair. Asked why he had not stopped drugging and abusing his wife when she developed health problems caused by the drugs, he replied that his addiction had been too strong. Gisèle was given a chance to respond to her husband's evidence and said: "It is difficult for me to listen to this. For 50 years, I lived with a man who I would've never imagined could be capable of this. I trusted him completely." The following day, Gisèle was questioned by defence lawyers, who had selected a small number of images, from the thousands on her husband's computer, that appeared to show her conscious, sometimes with a sex toy. One lawyer asked her if she was an exhibitionist. Gisèle said that she found the lawyers' questions insulting, adding: "And I understand why rape victims don't press charges."
The cross examination of the remaining defendants lasted from 19 September to 19 November, with the court taking a week's break at the end of October. The court screened videos of an unconscious Gisèle being raped by the accused. Initially, for reasons of decency, presiding judge Arata had ruled to exclude journalists and members of the public from the screenings. Following arguments from Gisèle's legal team, the judge reversed his decision. Most of the accused denied the charge of rape, saying that they were unaware Gisèle was unconscious and unable to consent. Some claimed they thought they were taking part in a couple's sexual fantasy or that the husband's consent was sufficient; some claimed diminished responsibility.
Gisèle's three children, who were plaintiffs in the case (French: parties civiles) gave evidence on 18 November to tell of the devastation that had been wrought on their family. David spoke of a son in therapy; Florian spoke of his divorce. Caroline Darian was convinced her father had drugged and abused her in spite of his denials, and said she felt like the forgotten victim in the case.
On 19 November, Gisèle took the stand for the last time. "This is a trial of cowardice", she said, adding that it was time to examine a macho patriarchal society that trivialised rape. Whilst admitting that it was her husband who orchestrated the abuse, she asked why not one of the accused had reported him to the police when they saw the state she was in. Defence lawyers suggested that she still felt sympathy for her husband or was under his control; one of them asked why she still used her married name after her divorce, to which she replied that her grandchildren were surnamed Pelicot and she wanted them to be proud of the name that was now known across the world, as it would be associated with her, rather than just her husband.
The prosecution delivered their closing arguments on 25–27 November. Seeking a 20-year sentence for Dominique, prosecutor Laure Chabaud said that a 20-year sentence, the maximum sentence for rape under French law, was "both a lot... and too little given the gravity of the acts that were committed and repeated". Chabaud and her fellow prosecutor sought a four-year sentence for one of the accused and sentences of between 10 and 18 years for the others. Chabaud said that such sentences would send a message of hope to all victims of sexual violence.
The closing arguments of the defence began on 27 November, with Dominique's lawyer, Béatrice Zavarro, the first to speak. She told the court that she had the utmost respect for Gisèle and her family, and asked them to remember the man who at one time had been a devoted family man. In a speech that quoted Sigmund Freud, John Betjeman and Boris Cyrulnik, she argued that childhood trauma had caused a split in Dominique's mind and caused his perversity.
Lawyers defending the other 50 accused delivered their closing arguments over the following two-and-a-half weeks. A common theme was the inability of the men to resist in the face of the manipulative behaviour of Dominique. The last lawyer to speak, Nadia El Bouroumi, argued for her clients' acquittal while acknowledging Gisèle's lack of consent, saying they had been manipulated by a monster. She said that it was difficult to speak for the accused when the victim was a feminist hero. On Monday 16 December, the final day of the trial, Dominique was given an opportunity to make a final statement. He acknowledged the courage of his former wife and asked his family for their forgiveness. The rest of the accused were also allowed to speak; some had nothing to add; some said they were not rapists as they had not intended to rape; some apologised to Gisèle.

## Verdicts

The judges retired to chambers on the morning of 16 December 2024. Verdicts were decided by secret ballots cast by the five judges. They returned to court on the morning of 19 December to deliver the verdicts.
Dominique was found guilty of all charges and received the maximum sentence of 20 years' imprisonment. The remaining 50 defendants were also found guilty: two of them were found guilty of aggravated sexual assault and received sentences of three years imprisonment, two were found guilty of attempted rape with aggravating factors and received sentences of five and six years' imprisonment, while the rest were found guilty of aggravated rape and received sentences ranging from five to 15 years' imprisonment.

### Convicted

The following men were convicted:
| Name | Age | Sentence (in years) | In jail since | Notes |
| Dominique Pelicot | 72 | 20 | 4 November 2020 | Ex-husband of the victim (divorced in late 2024), who organized and facilitated the rapes. Also convicted of taking and sharing intimate photos of his two daughters-in-law and his daughter, and the attempted rape of the wife of co-offender Jean-Pierre Maréchal. |
| Jean-Pierre Maréchal | 63 | 12 | 9 March 2021 | Found guilty of drugging and raping his wife, and invited Dominique to rape her as well. Not charged with raping Gisèle. |
| Charly Arbo | 30 | 13 | | Raped Gisèle on six occasions between 2016 and 2020. |
| Cyrille Delville | 54 | 8 | | |
| Christian Lescole | 56 | 9 | 2021 | Acquitted of possessing child-abuse material |
| Lionel Rodriguez | 44 | 8 | | Worked in the same supermarket where Dominique was caught upskirting women |
| Nicolas François | 43 | 8 | | Also guilty of possessing child-abuse material. Banned from working in jobs with children for several years. |
| Jacques Cubeau | 73 | 5 (3 suspended) | | |
| Patrice Nicolle | 55 | 8 | | |
| Thierry Parisis | 54 | 8 | | |
| Simoné Mekenese | 43 | 9 | | Lived near the Pelicots |
| Nizar Hamida | 40 | 10 | | Had eight prior convictions, including domestic violence and attempted abduction of his child with a former partner. |
| Boris Moulin | 37 | 8 | | |
| Jérôme Vilela | 46 | 13 | 2021 | |
| Didier Sambuchi | 68 | 5 (2 suspended) | | |
| Quentin Hennebert | 34 | 7 | | |
| Philippe Leleu | 62 | 5 (2 suspended) | | |
| Jean-Luc La | 46 | 10 | 2023 | Admitted to raping Gisèle on two occasions. |
| Fabien Sotton | 39 | 11 | 2021 | Sixteen prior convictions, including for domestic violence, sexual assault of a child, drug dealing and armed robbery. |
| Karim Sebaoui | 40 | 10 | | Also guilty of possessing child-abuse material. |
| Joan Kawai | 26 | 10 | 16 April 2021 | |
| Jean-Marc Leloup | 74 | 6 | | |
| Andy Rodriguez | 37 | 6 | | Alcoholic |
| Vincent Coullet | 43 | 10 | | Raped Gisèle on two occasions. Had previous conviction for domestic violence. |
| Adrien Longeron | 34 | 6 | | Also guilty of possessing child-abuse material. Jailed for 14 years in 2020 for raping and stalking three former girlfriends. |
| Hugues Malago | 39 | 5 | | |
| Ahmed Tbarik | 54 | 8 | | |
| Husamettin Dogan | 43 | 9 | | Prior convictions for drug trafficking |
| Romain Vandevelde | 63 | 15 | 2021 | Raped Gisèle on six occasions between 2019 and 2020. |
| Joseph Cocco | 69 | 3 (2 suspended) | | The only accused to be charged with sexual assault and not rape. Said he was fooled into thinking the Pélicot were a swingers couple; left after he realized Gisèle was unresponsive. |
| Saifeddine Ghabi | 37 | 3 (suspended) | | |
| Jean Tirano | 52 | 8 | | |
| Mohamed Rafaa | 70 | 8 | 2021 | Had prior conviction for raping his 17-year-old daughter, for which he was sentenced to five years' imprisonment. |
| Ludovick Blemeur | 39 | 7 | | Raped Gisèle at her daughter's home. |
| Patrick Aron | 60 | 6 | | |
| Abdelali Dallal | 47 | 8 | | |
| Grégory Serviol | 33 | 8 | | Prior convictions for theft, traffic offences, and drug use. |
| Cédric Grassot | 50 | 12 | | Also found guilty of possessing child-abuse material. |
| Cédric Venzin | 44 | 9 | | Prior convictions include several convictions for drunk driving. |
| Mahdi Daoudi | 36 | 8 | | |
| Thierry Postat | 61 | 12 | 2021 | Also guilty of possessing child-abuse material and possessing bestiality material. Banned from working with children for life. |
| Florian Rocca | 32 | 7 | | Prior convictions for theft, driving without a license and drug offences. |
| Dominique Davies | 45 | 13 | | Raped Gisèle on six occasions. |
| Cyprien Culieras | 45 | 6 | | Had eight prior convictions, mostly related to theft. |
| Mathieu Dartus | 53 | 7 | | Claimed to be under the influence under MDMA on that night. |
| Cyril Beaubis | 47 | 9 | | |
| Paul-Koikoi Grovogui | 31 | 8 | | Prior convictions for theft, forgery and domestic violence. |
| Omar Douiri | 36 | 8 | | |
| Redouane Azougagh | 40 | 9 | | Prior convictions for domestic violence. |
| Hassan Ouamou | 30 | 12 | | Convicted in absentia having fled the country, travelling between Morocco and Romania claiming no intention of returning to France. Thirteen prior convictions in connection with theft, violence, drugs, and possession of weapons. |
| Redouane El Farihi | 55 | 8 | | |
* ↑ As of December 2024
Six of the men, Joseph Cocco, Jacques Cubeau, Saifeddine Ghabi Hugues Malago, Philippe Leleu and Didier Sambuchi, benefited from time served and probations, and did not return to prison. Three, Husamettin Dogan, Abdelali Dallal and Patrick Aron, received deferred warrants of detention for health reasons. One, Hassan Ouamou, was sentenced in absentia.

#### Appeals

The defendants had 10 days – until 29 December – to lodge an appeal. The 17 who did so will have their appeals heard before a jury at a new trial in the Court of Appeal of Nîmes towards the end of 2025. The prosecution lodged a counter appeal, meaning the 17 appellants could see their sentences increased as well as decreased. Dominique decided not to appeal his conviction or sentence.

## Impact of the trial

Gisèle's decision to waive her right to anonymity and her insistence on a public trial established her as a feminist icon and raised awareness of drug-facilitated sexual assault, rape culture, and the question of consent. Media outlets from around the world covered the trial. A group of women called Amazons of Avignon (French: Les Amazones d'Avignon) plastered walls near the court with messages of support for Gisèle and applauded her as she left court each day. Blandine Deverlanges, founder of the group, said: "She has shown such dignity and courage and humanity. It was a huge gift to [French women] that she chose to speak to the whole world in front of her rapist". The BBC included her in its 2024 list of "100 inspiring and influential women from around the world".
On 14 September 2024, feminist organisations arranged protests in 30 areas throughout France to express solidarity with Gisèle and other victims of sexual violence, with 700 demonstrators at the Place de la République in Paris and 200 at the Palais de Justice in Marseille. There were further demonstrations in support of Gisèle in Paris, Lyon and other French cities in October.
The trial raised issues around consent in French law and the need to revise the criminal code, which currently defines rape as "any act of sexual penetration committed against another person by violence, constraint, threat or surprise", with no mention of consent.

## Other charges against Dominique Pelicot

While on remand, Dominique was charged with the rape and murder of 23-year-old estate agent Sophie Narme in Paris in 1991 and with the attempted rape of a 19-year-old estate agent Estella B. in Villeparisis, Seine-et-Marne. Both women had been showing a man around an apartment when they were attacked. Charges were brought by the cold case unit at Nanterre. Dominique initially denied both crimes but admitted the attempted rape when told that his DNA matched a sample taken at the scene. The woman had been drugged with ether but had managed to fight back and escape. The DNA match had previously been noted when he was arrested for upskirting in Collégien in 2010, but at that time the police failed to pursue the matter. Dominique continued to deny the rape and murder of Sophie Narme; a DNA sample taken from the scene had been lost.

## In popular media

In 2022, the Pelicots' daughter, who uses the pseudonym Caroline Darian, published a book about the case titled Et j'ai cessé de t'appeler Papa ('And I Stopped Calling You Dad'). She also established a non-profit organisation called M'endors Pas ('Don't Sedate Me') to raise awareness of drug-facilitated sexual assault. Caroline wrote a book in January 2025 titled I'll Never Call Him Dad Again and in that same month she recorded an interview with the BBC, to be broadcast as Pelicot Trial: the Daughter's story on 13 January 2025). She told Emma Barnett on the Today programme that she suspected her father had raped her: "I know that he drugged me, probably for sexual abuse. But I don't have any evidence".
ITN Productions and Channel 5 released a documentary on the Pelicot case titled The Pelicot Rape Case: A Town on Trial on 11 December 2024 in the UK. Caroline Darian will narrate a documentary made by France Télévisions.