Frenchman on trial over wife Gisele Pelicot’s mass rape hospitalized before giving testimony, lawyer says

Avignon, France — A Frenchman being tried for recruiting strangers to rape his drugged wife has been hospitalized, his lawyer said Tuesday, in a development that raises the prospect of the trial being adjourned. Dominique Pelicot, a 71-year-old retiree who was to have been cross-examined for the first time later Tuesday, was hospitalized earlier in the day, his lawyer Beatrice Zavarro told the court.

Presiding judge Roger Arata ordered the accused to be examined and emphasized that he could request a suspension of the trial, “until his (the defendant’s) state of health improves.”

Pelicot has been on trial since last week for repeatedly raping and enlisting dozens of strangers to rape his heavily sedated wife in her own bed between 2011 and 2020. Fifty other men, aged between 26 and 74, are also on trial for alleged involvement in the case, which has horrified France.

His ex-wife and victim Gisele Pelicot, also 71, says she was troubled by strange memory lapses for years until police uncovered the abuse by chance after her husband was caught filming up women’s skirts in a local supermarket. Dominique Pelicot, who has admitted to the charges against him, was to be questioned Tuesday afternoon.

He was excused from court Monday over abdominal pain and, on Tuesday morning, was still in bad health, according to the presiding judge.

“Medical staff took samples for analysis yesterday and do not have the results. Mr. Pelicot is said to still be unwell. I will during the day request emergency care,” he said, adding that he could be led to suspend the hearings for a few days if the primary suspect’s health didn’t improve.

Experts described Dominique Pelicot in court on Monday as a self-centered manipulator with no empathy and a split personality.

His lawyer Zavarro had said her client had been looking forward to “explaining” what he did.

Stephane Babonneau, the attorney for Gisele Pelicot and her adult children, said it was “absolutely necessary that Mr. Pelicot be treated medically and be able to attend the debates” in court.

Gisele “Pelicot and her children do not wish to be heard without him being present,” Babonneau said.

An investigator and an IT expert were to speak to the court Tuesday in lieu of the testimony that had been scheduled from the primary accused.

Pelicot kept meticulous records of the abuse of his wife, including videos, all of which was discovered by police who seized his computer and other equipment.

Most of the alleged rapes took place in the Pelicots’ home in Mazan, a village of 6,000 people in the southern region of Provence.

Their daughter Caroline Darian, 45, has said her life was “literally turned upside down” when she heard of the alleged abuse. Naked photomontages of her had also been found on his computer. She said in court last week that her father was “likely one of the worst sexual criminals in past 20 years.”

The couple’s two sons were still due to speak in court.