The shocking trial of a man accused of facilitating the rape of his wife by more than 70 men over an almost 10-year period, has been temporarily suspended after he was rushed to a hospital.
In a case that has rocked France since the allegations first came to light, retired electrician Dominique Pelicot, 72, is charged with allowing 72 strangers into his home to rape his drugged wife, Gisele, hundreds of times between 2011 and 2020. Pelicot has admitted his crimes and maintains that his marriage would have remained “happy” had she not learned of his horrific abuses against her.
On Tuesday, his trial at Vaucluse Criminal Court in Avignon, along with that of 51 other men accused of participating in the conspiracy, was briefly paused after Pelicot was taken to a hospital complaining of an intense pain in his stomach the night before, The Sun reports.
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Roger Arata, the presiding investigative judge on the case, told the court Pelicot “had samples taken yesterday for analysis” but that he is “still ill,” suggesting that the suspension could stretch on for “several days” pending “emergency updates” on Pelicot’s condition.
Beatrice Zavarro, who is representing Pelicot in the proceedings, said the defendant “wanted to be here” and that “he does not intend to flee,” having assured his lawyers that he has been clear about wanting to “explain himself” since the trial began.
The hospitalization came after the court was presented on Monday with findings from a psychological evaluation of Pelicot’s crimes. Experts said the 72-year-old father of three adult children had a “split personality,” allowing him to act as a “very caring and much-loved husband by day” but transforming him into “a rapist at night.”
Pelicot is further accused of training one of his co-conspirators, Jean-Pierre Marechal, to carry out similar acts against Marechal’s own wife on more than ten occasions between 2015 and 2020.
Beyond those crimes, Pelicot has also been charged with the rape and murder of 23-year-old Sophie Narme, a French real estate agent, in 1991. He denies these offenses, though has admitted to the attempted rape of another real estate agent, known as Estella B., in 1999.
