The public will be able to view video evidence of Gisele Pélicot’s rapes in court, a judge has ruled.
The ruling has been hailed as a ‘victory’ by Ms Pélicot’s lawyers, who said the videos should be shown in court to draw attention of drugs used to commit rape, France24 reported.
Ms Pélicot, who has no recollection’ of the years of abuse she suffered, has waived her right to anonymity as she faces her alleged attackers in order to to shift the ‘shame’ back onto the accused, her legal team have said.
Judge Roger Arata did say the images would be preceded by an announcement, allowing those with a ‘sensitive disposition and minors’ to leave before the footage was shown.
Police have listed a total of 92 rapes committed by 72 men against Ms Pélicot, of which only 51 have been identified.
The alleged rapists involved in the case include civil servants, ambulance workers, soldiers, prison guards, nurses, a journalist, a municipal councillor, and truck drivers.
They were orchestrated by her ex-husband, Dominique Pélicot, who openly admitted to the crimes in court, saying: ‘I recognise the facts in their totality.’
In a shocking statement last month, Pélicot admitted: ‘I maintain that, with the obligations we all have, I am a rapist, like everyone in this room. They cannot say otherwise.’
Previously speaking in court, Ms Pélicot maintained that she was not complicit with her ex-husband, as some of the defendants claimed.
‘Not for a second did I give my consent to Mr Pélicot, nor to these men who are behind me.
‘Since I arrived in this courtroom, I have been humiliated. I have been called an alcoholic, an accomplice of Mr Pélicot.
When was Pélicot arrested?
Pélicot has been on remand since 2020, when he was first arrested on suspicion of drugging and then raping Gisèle, while inviting men he contacted on line to do the same.
Pélicot is facing a jail sentence of up to 20 years, along with all the other defendants.
Pélicot’s daughter, Caroline Darian, 46, last week told the court that he was ‘one of the greatest sexual predators’ of recent years.
She said he secretly photographed her in the nude, along with her two sister-in-laws.
This was at the same family home in Mazan, some 20 miles from Avignon, which Pélicot had invited the alleged rapists.
Pélicot was first arrested in September 2020 for secretly filming up women’s skirts at a supermarket in Carpentras.
His devices were searched, and there were hundreds of pornographic videos and photos of women.
It was while in custody that Mr Pélicot reported a hard drive, hidden under a printer, which contained a file called ‘Abuses’.
It classified the nickname and telephone numbers of attackers, together with some 3,800 photos and videos of Gisèle being raped between 2011 and 2020.
Detectives have listed a total of 92 rapes committed by 72 men, 51 of whom have been identified.
Pélicot sex ring involved advertising on a site for ‘partners’ on an online forum called ‘Without Her Knowing’ on the coco.fr site.
In a separate case, Pélicot has been charged with raping and murdering a 23-year-old estate agent in Paris in 1991.
He has admitted one attempted rape in 1999, after DNA testing proved a case against him.
The Avignon aggravated rape case is due to last until December 21.
Fourteen of the other defendants have also admitted rape, while the rest deny any wrongdoing.
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