Gisele Pelicot is applauded by members of the public at the courthouse. Picture: AFP
A French court on Monday began hearing the cases against six new defendants as the mass rape trial that has sparked horror in the country moved into its fourth week.
Dominique Pelicot, who has admitted to the allegations, is accused of enlisting dozens of strangers to rape his drugged wife over nearly a decade.
The 71-year-old has been on trial since the start of the month along with 50 other men aged between 26 and 74, many of whom have denied the accusations, including one who is alleged to have raped his own wife.
On Monday, Dominique Pelicot was in court in the southeastern French city of Avignon. However, he was not due to speak until later this week.
His former wife Gisele Pelicot, 71, arrived in court to applause from the public. People once again turned out in large numbers to watch the proceedings.
She listened impassively to details of the personality assessments of six of her alleged attackers.
Among them was Joan Kwai, the youngest of the 50 co-defendants. He was 22 at the time of the alleged assaults.
The other suspects giving evidence include Andy Rodriguez, 37, Hugues Malago, 39, Husamettin Dogan, 43, Mathieu Dartus, 53, and Fabien Sotton, 39.
Kwai is suspected of having visited the couple’s home in the town of Mazan to rape Gisele Pelicot on two occasions. He went back a third time, but it was cancelled by Dominique Pelicot, reported The Mirror.
The court was shown images of Gisele Pelicot naked and unconscious, in “lewd” positions, and of her crotch. Before they were displayed, her daughter Caroline Darian left the courtroom at her mother’s request.
After being confronted with the horrific photos, Kwai admitted that she was unconscious and that it was rape. At the beginning of the trial, he said he “recognised the facts, but not the intention”.
Born in French Guiana, Kwai joined his brother in Avignon when he was 16, before enlisting in the army.
He was in a relationship with a woman he met on the internet. However, their time together was marked by “numerous” conflicts and “extramarital relations”, the court heard.
At the time of their separation, Kwai’s partner was pregnant.
In November 2019, he was absent for the birth of his own daughter. This was on one of the occasions he is accused of sexually assaulting Gisele Pelicot.
Described by investigators as a man with depressive tendencies, Kwai was expected to be heard at the end of the week.
Gisele Pelicot has become an overnight feminist icon and received praise for demanding the trial be open to the public to raise awareness about the use of drugs to commit sexual abuse.
She revealed that she had sought medical care after experiencing a wide range of concerning symptoms. This includes gynaecological issues, hair loss, and memory lapses, reported The Independent.
She feared she was developing Alzheimer’s disease, and even saw a specialist at her husband’s encouragement. Instead, the memory loss came from her husband slipping drugs into her drinks.
As for the gynaecological symptoms, many of the men who raped her did not wear condoms. One HIV-positive man is alleged to have raped her six times. She did not contract HIV but was later diagnosed with no fewer than four sexually transmitted diseases.
Additional source: AFP
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