‘You have the rest of my life in your hands,’ Gisele Pélicot’s ex-husband makes final plea

The French rapist, who is accused of allowing dozens of men to sexually abuse his drugged wife, told the jury in a final plea that “the rest of my life [is] in your hands”.

Dominique Pélicot, 71, asked his family for “forgiveness” as he hailed the “courage” of his former wife in his final statements on Monday morning ahead of a verdict later in the week.

In a trial that shocked France, Pélicot confessed to recruiting scores of men he met online to his family home to repeatedly rape or sexually assault Gisèle Pélicot, 72, for almost a decade.

Prosecutors have requested the maximum possible sentence of 20 years behind bars, portraying him as the worst sex offender in recent French history.

“I would like to start by hailing the courage of my ex-wife” he told the Vaucluse Criminal Court in Avignon.

“I regret what I did, making [my family] suffer… I ask them for forgiveness,” he added, asking the family to “accept my apologies”.

Turning his head in the direction of the five magistrates who make up the jury, Pélicot said: “There you go, you have the rest of my life in your hands.”

He acknowledged in the brief speech that he had been “saddled with titles that I rather intend to forget”.

They include “The Monster of Avignon”, the “Ogre of Mazan” and “The Wolf” who allegedly trapped “clients” by making them believe he was part of a libertine couple whose wife pretended to be asleep while having sex.

In fact, he was hiding sleeping drugs in Ms Pélicot’s food, making sure she was fully unconscious for the impending sexual assault.

Dominique Pelicot could receive the maximum sentence of 20 years for crimes against his wife

Speaking to the mother of their three grown up children, who have been at the trial throughout, he said: “I would like to start by saluting the courage of my ex-wife, for having to put up with the innuendo that she was complicit [in my crimes].

“I ask her, and the rest of my family, to please accept my apologies.”

Ms Pélicot has become a feminist icon, praised internationally for highlighting the horror of domestic sex abuse, after waiving her right to a closed trial and standing up to her aggressors in court.

Fifty other men aged 27 to 74 are also on trial, including one who did not abuse Ms Pélicot but raped his own wife with Pélicot’s help, 14 of which have admitted aggravated rape, the others deny the charge.

Sitting in the glass defendants’ box, Pélicot reaffirmed that he had told “the whole truth” since the beginning of the trial on Sept 2.

Referring to his 2020 arrest, he said: “I regret what I have done, making them suffer for four years. I ask them for forgiveness.”

Gisele Pelicot has attended every day of the three and a half month trial – CLEMENT MAHOUDEAU/GETTY IMAGES

He thanked the court for agreeing to allow him to remain seated on a special chair because of his poor health, which Pélicot said “could have been interpreted as a relaxed manner, but was not”.

Turning to Béatrice Zavarro, his lawyer who during the trial described herself as “the devil’s advocate”, he said: “She made sure I held on to the handrail.

“Collapsing would have been a sign of cowardice towards my family and an easy way for the accused to agree with them. So, I held on.”

Admitting he would carry an “inner shame” for the rest of his life, Pélicot continued: “I have a shell that I created for myself, otherwise we die in prison.”

He said: “The deprivation of no longer seeing your loved ones is worse than the deprivation of freedom. I can tell my whole family that I love them.”

The other accused were also given the opportunity to speak to “explain” the sexual violence inflicted on Pélicot.

The verdicts are expected on Thursday.

Image Credits and Reference: https://uk.yahoo.com/news/rest-life-hands-gisele-p-125940929.html