Monster of Avignon admits raping wife Gisele Pelicot in a motorway service station while driving back from holiday because it was his ‘fantasy’
Monster of Avignon Dominique Pelicot has told the court that he raped his ex-wife at a motorway rest stop on the way back from holiday because it was his ‘fantasy’.
Evil Pelicot, 71, is accused of slipping sleeping pills into Gisele Pelicot’s meals and then inviting dozens of men he met on a swinging website to rape her while he filmed.
The harrowing case has made headlines around the world, but at the same time his former partner has courageously waived her anonymity to testify against him and the other defendants.
Earlier this week she bravely described how she suffered the ultimate betrayal at the hands of retired electrician Pelicot, adding that she was speaking on behalf of other victims of sexual assault.
In his first comments after her testimony, Pelicot brazenly revealed how he once raped her in a gas station as they drove back from the holiday island of Ile de Re off France’s Atlantic coast.
Dominique Pelicot, 71, admitted raping his wife Gisele (pictured) at a highway gas station because it was his ‘fantasy’
Dominque Pelicot (pictured) is accused of drugging his ex-wife Gisele and inviting dozens of men to rape her as he watched and filmed them during a decade-long period of hell.
Ms Pelicot’s lawyer, Stephane Barbonneau, told the court in Avignon that Pelicot had driven there to ‘present’ her to truck drivers, but he insisted ‘no one else was involved’ and it was just him.
He said: ‘It was a fantasy of mine. We were on our way back from the Ile de Re and I stopped at a gas station and I raped her.
“No one saw it and it wasn’t visible to anyone else.”
Later, defendant Abdelali Dallal, 47, admitted raping Ms Pelicot twice after being driven there by his then partner who was waiting outside in her car.
Dallal, who was allowed to testify while seated after suffering a stroke following the 2018 attacks, said: “At this point, two rapes have indeed taken place.
“But to this day I still don’t know why I went there,” he told the court after describing how he was contacted by the swinging website Coco.fr.
He added that Pelicot told him not to worry about “wearing a condom” and that he admitted to “drugging his wife.”
When asked for his thoughts on Dallal’s testimony, Pelicot said: “First of all, I would like to say how sorry I am to see him in the condition he is in.
“I would also say that he is the first to say things as they are. Yes, I told him not to worry about a condom.
It comes after a former prison guard who guarded the Monster of Avignon while in custody became the latest man to give evidence in the shocking rape trial.
Quentin Hennebert, 34, worked at the prison where Pelicot was held after he was arrested for upskirting in 2020, before quitting and becoming an ambulance driver.
Hennebert told the court in Avignon that he had joined the swinging site Coco.fr – where Pelicot recruited men to abuse Ms Pelicot – to ‘sell ecstasy and MDMA’, adding: ‘I am not proud of myself. ‘
Ms Pelicot’s lawyer, Stephane Barbonneau, told the court in Avignon that Pelicot had driven there to ‘present’ her to truck drivers, but he insisted ‘no one else was involved’ and it was just him.
Earlier this week, Gisele Pelicot bravely took the stand and waived her anonymity to lend her support to other rape victims, telling them: ‘We don’t have to be ashamed, it’s them who should be ashamed’
Quentin Hennebert told the court in Avignon that he had joined swinging site Coco.fr – where Dominque Pelicot recruited men to abuse his wife
He said: ‘I bought the drugs for €300 and was able to resell them for three to four times the price.’
The court heard how Hennebert had visited the Pelicot family home in the village of Mazan in November 2019 while he was working at the prison and 10 months before Pelicot was arrested.
He said: ‘In my work I am shown court papers, police investigative material and I saw Pelicot’s name come up.
‘I made the connection with what had happened and I thought that sooner or later the police would come to my door. I haven’t really had any rest since I saw the name.’
At that point the prosecutor interrupted him and asked, “So you were at peace when you left the Pelicot’s house?”
Hennebert, who has admitted to the rape, replied: ‘When I got in my car afterwards I realized I had made a big mistake and I just wanted to erase it from my memory.’
Ms Pelicot’s lawyer, Stephane Barbonneau, said: ‘She is an exceptional woman and we have heard from her how determined she is to have her story heard.
A court drawing of Ms Pelicot at the Avignon courthouse, during the trial of her former partner accused of drugging her for almost a decade and inviting strangers to rape her in their home in Mazan
Before the trial, Ms Pelicot’s lawyer, Stephane Barbonneau, said: ‘She is an exceptional woman and we have heard from her how determined she is to have her story heard.
‘Every day of this trial we see how deep a problem runs in society and what she wants to do is ensure that all victims are not forgotten.
‘She expects nothing from the people on trial and cannot accept their excuses.’
He added that some suspects’ defense that it was “accidental rape” was “inaudible to society.”