Wife of Man Who Drugged and Invited Men to Rape Her Thought She Had Alzheimer's Disease Because of Blackouts
Gisèle Pélicot testified Thursday against ex-husband Dominique Pélicot, who has admitted to drugging her and inviting other men to rape her over the course of a decade
CHRISTOPHE SIMON/AFP via Getty
Gisele PelicotThe ex-wife of a French man who admitted to drugging her and allowing dozens of men to rape her over the course of a decade says she became “convinced” at one point that she had Alzheimer’s disease because of the substantial memory loss she was experiencing throughout the abuse.
Gisèle Pélicot, 71, took to the stand on Thursday, Sept. 5, in the Vaucluse Criminal Court in Avignon to testify in the trial of her ex-husband Dominique Pélicot.
The suspect, also 71, has admitted to inviting 83 men – including firefighters, masons, gardeners, prison guards, soldiers and journalists, now between the ages of 26 and 73 years old — to sexually assault Gisèle while she was unconscious, French paper Le Parisien previously reported.
During her testimony, Gisèle recounted her confusion when she began to experience “total blackouts,” starting in 2011. The retired Mazan, France, native told the courtroom Thursday that around 2013 she began to feel worse: she started to lose her hair, lost weight and continued to have memory lapses at different parts of the day.
The blackouts became so concerning that she decided to stop driving, she explained in court.
“I didn’t understand why I had these moments like this,” Gisèle recalled in court, according to The Telegraph.
According to The New York Times, she told the court: “I was persuaded I had the beginnings of Alzheimer’s or a brain tumor.”
Her then-husband of almost 50 years, a retired electricity worker, drove her to her doctor's appointments as she searched for answers.
Related: How Police Allegedly Caught Husband Accused of Drugging Wife and Inviting 83 Men to Rape Her
“I could not have imagined for a single second that I had been drugged,” Gisèle said.
But in 2020, Gisèle was alerted to the truth when French police told her they had allegedly found thousands of pictures and videos on her husband Dominique’s computer that showed her unconscious. Police had raided her and Dominique’s home after he was accused of attempting to film up several women’s skirts at a local grocery store, The Times reported.
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Gisele PelicotAccording to The Times, French laws allow for women to seek justice for such alleged crimes in private instead of a trial playing out in public. However, Gisèle reportedly told the courtroom Thursday that she wanted her ex-husband to stand trial in public.
Gisèle has also kept her former husband Dominique’s last name, Pélicot, for the trial, with plans to change back to her maiden name after it’s finished, The Times reported.
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According to The Times, she told the court she believed it was important for other women to hear her story.
“So when other women, if they wake up with no memory, they might remember the testimony of Ms. Pelicot,” Gisèle said, according to the newspaper. “No woman should suffer from being drugged and victimized.”
CHRISTOPHE SIMON/AFP via Getty
Dominique has pleaded guilty to the charges against him, according to The Times.
According to The Telegraph, 14 of the other defendants have pleaded guilty and at least 35 have pleaded not guilty.
The Times reported that Gisèle – who says she no longer experiences blackouts – appeared defiant and calm while testifying in court, addressing the rapes.
“We must address this scourge,” she said.
If you or someone you know has been sexually assaulted, please contact the National Sexual Assault Hotline at 1-800-656-HOPE (4673) or go to rainn.org.
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