Caroline and David Pelicot, the daughter and son of Gisele Pelicot, appeared together at the courthouse before a hearing in the trial of their father, Dominique Pelicot, who is accused of drugging their mother for nearly a decade and inviting strangers to rape her at their home in Mazan, a small town in the south of France, near Avignon, on November 19, 2024. — AFP
Caroline, the daughter of Dominique Pelicot, who is on trial for orchestrating the rape of his heavily sedated wife by dozens of strangers, confronted her father during the trial, shouting in the courtroom that he would "die in lies." Since early September, Dominique Pelicot has been on trial along with 49 other men for organizing the rapes and sexual abuse of his now ex-wife, Gisele Pelicot. In his closing statement, Dominique Pelicot admitted to the accusations, stating that his motive was to fulfill a "fantasy." "I acted as I did with people who willingly accepted my proposal," he told the court. Recalling his past, he mentioned being raped at the age of nine in a hospital and witnessing the gang-rape of a young girl at a construction site when he was 14. "I don't know when I'll be released, but if I do, I have no plans. What saddens me most is that people think I'm capable of things I'm not," he added.
Family lawyer Antoine Camus intervened, stating that Dominique Pelicot's daughter, Caroline Darian (a pseudonym), along with her brothers David and Florian, needed a "clear and human response" to the actions she believes she suffered at his hands. Caroline Darian, who wrote a book titled "Et j'ai cesse de t'appeler papa" ("And I stopped calling you dad") in 2022, believes she was also assaulted by her father, who took intimate photographs of her. "I won't try to convince her with perverse answers," Dominique Pelicot replied. "I don't remember taking those photos. I tell her straight in the eyes that I never touched her." He then addressed her directly, saying, "Caroline, I have never done anything to you." But she interrupted, shouting, "You lie, you don't have the courage to tell the truth! Even about your ex-wife!" "You will die in lies! Alone, alone in lies, Dominique Pelicot!" she continued before being interrupted by Judge Roger Arata.
Nude photos taken without her knowledge and photomontages of Caroline Darian with lewd titles were found on her father's hard drive. In some, she appears asleep, sometimes wearing her mother's underwear. A total of 51 men, including Dominique Pelicot, are on trial, with one defendant still at large.
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