The family of multiple rape victim Gisele Pelicot has been ‘torn apart’ by the trial that saw her husband jailed for two decades, it emerged today.
When Ms Pelicot, aged 72, took the stand as the key witness against her counterpart Dominique Pelicot, also 72, she was in the presence of her three grown children.
The Frenchman was accused of drugging his wife for almost 10 years, and then allowing scores of men he met online to defile her.
But, by the time a jury in Avignon, in the south of France, found him guilty of aggravated rape last month, a deep rift had developed.
Stéphane Babonneau, the legal representative for Ms Pelicot, shared with the Sunday Times that when sexual harassment occurs within families, it can lead to the disintegration of the family unit. This was apparently the case here. The impact of sexual assault is profound and can resonate through multiple generations.
Although Mr. Babonneau refrained from delving into the specifics of the family conflict, reports suggest that the issues revolve around the Pelicot’s sole daughter, Caroline Darian, aged 46.
She insists she too was drugged and attacked by her father, but no evidence has ever emerged to support this claim.
In turn, Ms Darian is angry that her mother has not supported her in her own criminal complaints.
The family of multiple rape victim Gisele Pelicot (pictured leaving the courthouse in Avignon, France on December 19, 2024) has been ‘torn apart’ by the trial that saw her husband jailed for two decades, it emerged today
Ms Pelicot (left) appeared as the main prosecution witness against Dominique Pelicot, (right, as depicted in a September 2024 court sketch). The Frenchman was accused of drugging his wife for almost 10 years, and then allowing scores of men he met online to defile her
Pelicot’s only daughter, Caroline Darian, 46, (pictured arriving at the courthouse in November 2024) insists she too was drugged and attacked by her father, but no evidence has ever emerged to support this claim
Ms Darian has authored a book about her ordeal, in which she writes, ‘Because of my father, I am now losing my mother.’
After 51 men, including Dominique Pelicot, were convicted of various crimes including aggravated rape in December, Ms Darian’s plans for a family party were cancelled.
Mr Babonneau would not say if the family even spent Christmas and New Year together.
Instead, he said Ms Pelicot – who divorced her husband in the summer – was now living at a secret address in a French village, and had stop using her married name.
This means she has moved away from the former family home in Mazan, near Avignon, where the rapes took place.
Mr Babonneau said she was ‘trying to remain normal, and the way to do that is to return to normal life’.
This court-sketch made on December 19, 2024 in Avignon shows Gisele Pelicot during the hearing of the verdict of the court that sentenced her ex-husband to the maximum term of 20 years jail for committing and orchestrating her mass rapes with dozens of strangers he recruited online
The barrister added: ‘She also has to adjust to the fact she can’t go to the supermarket without being recognised – and she’s not an actor or celeb, it’s just because she participated in a trial.’
Despite the rift, Mr Babonneau said: ‘They are all genuine people trying to cope, and when Gisèle spoke after the verdict her first words were for her family.’
Of the 51 men convicted, 17 have appealed, and there are at least 20 assailants who have never been identified.
They were captured in videos shot by Dominique Pelicot of his wife being abused.
Such images – which he stored on his own devices – formed prosecution evidence against Pelicot.
It came as Pelicot said he would be fighting accusations that he sexually assaulted a 12-year-old girl at her parents’ home in Paris in 1995.
Caroline Dorian arrives at the judicial court in Avignon, France on December 19, 2024. Ms Darian is said to be angry that her mother has not supported her in her own criminal complaints
The woman, now aged 42, has just complained to police in the French capital, and an investigation is underway after she said she recognised her alleged attacker because of the publicity around the Avignon trial.
But Pelicot’s defence lawyer, Béatrice Zavarro, said ‘he absolutely denies this new accusation. He is absolutely stunned by it’.
Pelicot is also under investigation for two unresolved cases in the greater Paris area – an attempted rape in 1999, which he confessed to, and an attempted rape and murder in 1991, which he denies.
