The first of 50 men charged with raping a drunk French woman says her husband showed him photos of her ‘naked and awake in their garden’, leading him to believe she was ‘playing along’
The first of 50 men charged with raping a woman after her husband drugged her told a court he thought she was “in the game” despite being told to leave the room when she stirred.
Lionel Rodriguez, 43, testified in court on charges of raping Gisele Pelicot while she was semi-conscious.
Mrs Pelicot’s husband, 73-year-old Dominique, has been dubbed ‘the Monster of Avignon’ after admitting to drugging his wife and having 82 strangers rape her in their marital bed.
Pelicot met the men, including Rodriguez, online and shared his disgusting sexual fantasies online, then invited them to his family home to rape his wife of more than 40 years.
Police were able to view footage of the attacks that Pelicot had recorded and saved on his computer and identified 50 suspects. Another 32 strangers who raped Ms. Pelicot remain unidentified.
Gisele Pelicot, 72, arrives at the court in Avignon, France this morning
Lionel Rodriguez, 43, was on trial for the rape of Gisele Pelicot (pictured with her lawyer outside court this morning)
This courtroom sketch by Valentin Pasquier shows Gisèle Pelicot, left, and her ex-husband Dominique Pelicot, right, during his trial, at the Avignon courthouse, in Avignon on Tuesday
First defendant Rodriguez told the court: ‘It was my biggest mistake from the beginning that I didn’t ask to speak to Gisele, but it seemed impossible to me that she wasn’t in the game.
‘Pelicot sent me pictures of Gisele, naked in the garden, but she was awake, and that gave me the impression that she agreed.’
Rodriguez said his wife left him after news of his involvement in the case broke, and he then turned to Mrs. Pelicot, 71, to apologize for his actions.
Wearing a black bomber jacket and dark jeans, Rodriguez said, “I never meant to hurt you, but I did. I want to ask for your forgiveness.”
“I can imagine your nightmare, it’s horrible to think that I’m part of that nightmare. My apologies won’t change anything, but I wanted to tell you.”
Mrs. Pelicot, who waived her right to anonymity, simply looked at him and remained sitting emotionless just a few feet away from him.
Rodriguez met Pelicot through a now-closed forum called Coco.fr and the two men exchanged messages over an extended period of time in 2018.
Dominique Pélicot is accused of recruiting men online to repeatedly attack his wife over a 10-year period
Gisele Pelicot pictured in a sketch with her daughter and lawyer in court yesterday
Eventually, Pelicot suggested that he come to his house in Mazan, near Avignon in the south of France, so he could sleep with Gisele.
Rodriguez said, “He mentioned pills, but it wasn’t clear whether he gave them to her or whether she took them.”
Pelicot is accused of drugging his wife for a decade and having her raped by the 50 men accused, while he filmed the abuse.
However, lawyers for Rodriguez and the others allege that the men believed Ms. Pelicot was an accomplice and a willing participant, and that they were duped.
Rodriguez told the court that when he arrived, Ms Pelicot was lying naked on a bed and appeared to be asleep.
He said: ‘Pelicot told me to lie down next to her and I fondled her, I penetrated her, but during the act I slipped and he sent me out of the room.’
Pelicot admitted in court earlier this week that he was “a rapist” and insisted his wife was not part of the plan.
Police first arrested him in September 2020 for secretly filming under women’s skirts at a supermarket in nearby Carpentras.
His devices were searched and hundreds of pornographic videos and photos were found.
While Pelicot was in custody, he reported finding a hard drive labeled “Abuse,” which contained 3,800 photos and videos of his wife being raped between 2011 and 2020.
The abuse took place in the town of Mazan, in the south of France, and was only discovered after the man was caught slipping women into a local supermarket, prompting officers to search his home
Detectives have recorded a total of 92 rapes, committed by 72 men, 51 of whom have been identified as ranging in age from 26 to 73.
Eighteen of them are in custody and are being held in a reinforced cage in the courtroom, while the others – including Rodriguez – are free on bail and enter and exit the building wearing masks and hoodies to avoid being recognized.
Pelicot allegedly drugged his wife by slipping Temesta into her dinner. Suspected attackers include civil servants, a journalist, prison guards, a retired firefighter, a city councilman and truck drivers.
Mr. Pélicot pictured appearing before the courthouse in Avignon on September 11
In another case, Pelicot has been charged with the rape and murder of a 23-year-old real estate agent in Paris in 1991.
The former electrician – who is in a wheelchair surrounded by guards during the hearing in Avignon that began earlier this month – has also confessed to being raped once in 1999 after DNA tests linked him to the attack.
The case is expected to last until December. Fourteen of the suspects have confessed to rape, while the rest deny any wrongdoing.