'I lived a lie', tearful witness tells French mass rape trial

 

Gisele Pelicot (c), flanked by her lawyer Stephane Babonneau (L), is applauded by members of the public as she leaves the courthouse of Avignon during the trial of her former husband Dominique Pelicot accused of drugging her for nearly ten years and inviting strangers to rape her at their home in Mazan, a small town in the south of France, in Avignon, on September 23, 2024. [AFP]

A former partner of a co-defendant in a mass rape trial that has sparked horror and protests in France broke down in tears on Monday, telling the court she had "lived a lie" and might herself have been sexually assaulted.

"I don't know if I was raped," Emilie O., told a criminal court in the southeastern French city of Avignon. "It's terrible, I will always have doubts."

Emilie O. is a former partner of Hugues M., one among dozens of men accused of participating in the mass rape over a decade of Gisele Pelicot.

Gisele's then-husband Dominique Pelicot has admitted to drugging her into unconsciousness and inviting strangers into their home to rape her.

The 71-year-old has been on trial since the start of the month along with 50 other men aged between 26 and 74, many of whom have denied the accusations.

Emilie O. said she herself might have been drugged and sexually assaulted by Hugues M., her former companion.

"I was manipulated and lived a lie," said Emilie O., who had lived with the man for five years.

"I'm still questioning everything," she said without glancing at her former partner.

'I was stunned'

Recounting her story, Emilie O. broke down in tears as she looked at Gisele Pelicot, who smiled back at her in a show of support.

The 33-year-old said she had first met Hugues M. online and the two shared a passion for motorcycling.

She described Hugues M. as a respectful and considerate man but added that he was repeatedly unfaithful to her.

Emilie O. said he told her he needed "adrenaline that he only found by riding a motorbike and engaging in sexual relations".

She began seeing her life with him in a different light when she learnt in 2021 of the charges against her former partner.

Her life was turned upside down when she received a call from the Avignon police.

"I was summoned and told that Hugues had raped a woman in October 2019, a few days before my birthday," she said.

"I didn't believe them, I was stunned, shocked. I asked to see the photo and then I realised that it wasn't a nightmare," she said.

Hugues M. has been prosecuted for "attempted rape", having failed to achieve penetration.

She began doubting their entire relationship and thinks she might have suffered the same treatment as Gisele Pelicot.

One night in 2019 she woke up to her partner attempting to penetrate her digitally, Emilie O. said. She launched a complaint, but it was dismissed for "lack of material evidence".

She also experienced "dizziness" between September 2019 and March 2020, but investigators did not detect any substances that might have affected her at the time.

Gisele Pelicot has testified that for years she had strange memory lapses and other health problems and thought she might have had Alzheimer's.

Missed birth of daughter

In addition to Hugues M., the court began examining evidence against five more defendants.

Among them was Joan K., the youngest of the 50 co-defendants who was 22 at the time of the alleged assaults.

In 2019, he was absent for the birth of his own daughter on one of the occasions he is accused of sexually assaulting Gisele Pelicot, a profiler told the court.

He is suspected of having visited the couple's home in Mazan to rape Gisele Pelicot on two occasions.

Joan K. was in a relationship with a woman he met on the internet, but their time together was marked by "numerous" conflicts and "extramarital relations", the court heard.

At the time of their separation, Joan K.'s partner was pregnant.

Fellow defendant Andy R. testified that he went to the Pelicot home on December 31, 2018, but said he did not have "the intention of raping anyone".

Like others in the dock, the 37-year-old said he thought it was "a sexual game" between the Pelicot couple -- a defence called into question by Dominique Pelicot's testimony.

Asked about whether Gisele Pelicot had consented, Andy R. replied: "As the husband had given me permission, for me she agreed to it."

The hearing will continue on Tuesday with the psychological examination of these six accused.

Gisele Pelicot has become an overnight feminist icon and received praise for demanding the trial be open to the public to raise awareness about the use of drugs to commit sexual abuse.

At the weekend, a letter in support of Gisele Pelicot signed by more than 200 high-profile men was published in the French Daily Liberation.

Thousands have joined protests in September in support of Gisele Pelicot and on Monday women's rights groups called for new demonstrations in support of survivors of sexual violence.

"The trial of the Mazan rapists has triggered unprecedented emotions," said 30 associations, demanding "strong action" from the new government.