DEVILS AT THE DOOR
What sort of monster would rape Gisèle Pelicot? The mob of HIV-riddled perverts evil husband Dominique ushered into home
One beast assaulted unconscious Gisele on the same day his baby daughter was born
THE 50 men embroiled in a sickening rape case against grandmother Gisele Pelicot at her home were described as “Mr Average” - but the industrial scale of their depravity was beyond abnormal.
Today the judges in France delivered their verdicts and sentenced the offenders following an almost four month long trial that has shocked the world.
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Gisele’s husband Dominique, 72, was handed a 20-year spell behind bars after admitting raping his unconscious wife and inviting at least 83 men to join in.
Thirteen pleaded guilty, 35 denied the charges, another man is on the run and the rest are to be identified.
Out of the 51 defendants, 47 including Pélicot were found guilty of aggravated rape.
Two were found guilty of attempted rape, and two of sexual assault.
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The assailants include a soldier who assaulted Gisele on the day his daughter was born, a nurse who attacked her for three hours, a forklift driver who knew he was HIV positive and a local man who continued even though his victim was snoring.
Pelicot’s lawyer Beatrice Zavarro called them "Mr Average" and said the “real debate” was “how these men, from all walks of life, landed up in Gisèle Pelicot’s bedroom.”
But psychologist Annabelle Montagne, who assessed the defendants on behalf of the court in Avignon, said: “These are not Mr Everyman who committed these acts.”
Among the range of professions, which include a councillor, a grocer and IT worker, 14 of the accused had previous convictions for violence.
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They were all caught out because Pelicot recorded all the “chemical submission” attacks on his wife and kept the videos on his computer. The 72-year-old retired electrician was nicknamed the Devil of Mazan, where the couple lived in the South of France.
Here we look at some of the evil men, whose ages range from 22 to 68 at the time of the rapes, who carried out horrifying deeds for him.
‘Beast of Avignon’s’ brave victim Dominique Pelicot sees 27 sick images of her own rape as they’re shown to hushed court
Quentin Hennebert
The 34-year-old prison officer worked at the jail where Pelicot was incarcerated following his arrest in 2020.
Described as “hard-working, very human, courageous and respectful of the law”, Hennebert was a former police officer.
Rather than being “respectful of the law” he sold ecstasy via a website on which Pelicot found men willing to sleep with his unconscious wife.
Ten months before Pelicot was caught by detectives in 2020, Hennebert arranged to go to the serial rapist’s home in Mazan to sleep with Gisele.
A psychological assessment described him as “psychopathic.”
Romain Vandevelde
The 63-year-old forklift driver knew he was HIV positive when he raped Gisele six times without a condom.
Vandevelde denied the charges, arguing that “her husband invited me in” and that Pelicot’s consent was sufficient.
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Fortunately, Gisele did not contract the potentially deadly disease because he had a low viral load.
Vandevelde said he went to the Pelicot home because “I felt lonely. Christmas was approaching and I was going to be on my own again. I was looking for friendship.”
Joan Kawai
The French soldier performed despicable acts on drugged Gisele on the day his daughter was born.
Aged 26, Kawai was the youngest of the defendants and was just 22 when he first went to the Pelicot home in November 2019.
Despite Gisele not waking up during his sexual attack, Kawai returned for more the following year.
The images of the assault were so disturbing that Gisele asked her daughter Caroline Darian to leave the court room when they were shown to the judges.
He claimed: “I knew she was unconscious, but not that she wasn’t consenting.”
Abdelali Dallal
The 47-year-old former canteen worker was driven to the Pelicot home by his then partner.
She waited outside patiently in 2018, unaware that Dallal was having sex with an unconscious woman inside.
Dallal admitted two counts of rape and that Pelicot had told him “she would not wake up”.
He returned for more.
When originally faced with footage of his cruel acts he claimed it must be his double in the video.
Gisèle's bravery has changed the conversation
By Julie Bindel
IN choosing to waive her anonymity, Gisèle Pelicot has paid a huge price. But the gift she has made to women, especially those who have also been raped and sexually assaulted, is greater still.
It was feminists that pushed for the change in UK law, which came into force in 1976, that gave victims of sex crime the right to anonymity. Prior to that, women were very unlikely to report rape, because the humiliation of being named brought shame and stigma onto the victim, rather than the perpetrator.
In cases of sexual assault, all too often the scrutiny is on the woman, rather than the man that carried out the attack. “What was she wearing?”, “Had she been drinking?”, “Was she known to be promiscuous?” All these questions and assumptions put the focus on the victim. Gisèle's willingness to be named and photographed by the world's press, having been raped by upwards of 50 men, has taken ‘courage’ to a new level.
The late Jill Saward, known as the Ealing Vicarage rape victim, waived her anonymity after being repeatedly and violently raped by two men during a burglary. Jill was only 21 at the time, but she went on to be a lifelong campaigner for the rights and protection of rape victims. Like Gisèle, she was a hero.
Now that the 51 men in the Pelicot trial have been convicted and sentenced, other rape victims, inspired by Gisèle, are saying they will also waive anonymity during any trial. I hope they do so with support, and without regret.
Some years ago, I interviewed an 18-year-old who had been gang raped and was determined that I should use her full name in the report in a national newspaper. I gently dissuaded her from doing so, because she had her life and career ahead of her. I asked if she wanted her terrible ordeal to be the first thing a potential employer would see when googling her, and she later told me she was grateful for my advice.
Gisèle has been a gamechanger. She has brought the truth about rape, and how ‘ordinary men’ who are part of the local community can and do carry out monstrous crimes. She has shone a light on the perpetrators, and become an international feminist icon.
Gisèle will be forever remembered as a woman who shifted the focus onto the men who commit such heinous crimes. As a result, no stigma or shame has attached to her. Far from it.
I have campaigned my entire adult life to end male violence against women and girls, and fully support the right to anonymity for rape victims.
I also wholeheartedly applaud every woman who stands up and uses her name without shame. Such women must have full protection and support from the criminal justice system, and from wider society.
As Gisele said, shame must change sides.
The bravery and tenacity of women who have endured terrible abuse never fails to bring me joy and sustenance.
I am one of countless women saying to Gisèle: “Thank you, sister”.
Simone Mekenes
The 42-year-old builder and ex-soldier only lived 600ft away from Gisele’s home.
Mekenes was the only attacker she recognised from the videos that the police found on her husband’s electronic devices.
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Gisele can be heard snoring as he assaults her in 2018.
Despite that, the father-of-six pleaded not guilty, arguing that he thought the couple were playing out a sex game.
He claimed that he’d been raped as a teenager.
Adrien Longeron
The 34=year-old son of a wealthy building contractor admitted hating women and was convicted last year of the rapes of three former partners.
He was already serving 14 years behind bars when the Pelicot trial began.
The night he attacked Gisele his then-girlfriend was nine months pregnant, and gave birth just over a week later.
Longeron denied raping Pelicot, saying that "when the husband is present, it isn't rape.”
He is said to have come from a “loving family”, with his mum a care worker and dad the chief executive of a public works company.
Redouan El Farihi
The community nurse, 55, is a trained anaesthetist yet claimed he didn’t know Gisele was drugged.
Pelicot said he offered Gisele to the nurse as “a present” for three hours.
El Farihi claimed that he did what Pelicot told him to “out of fear, to not frustrate him, he seemed like a psychopath.”
How you can get help
Women's Aid has this advice for victims and their families:
- Always keep your phone nearby.
- Get in touch with charities for help, including the Women’s Aid live chat helpline and services such as SupportLine.
- If you are in danger, call 999.
- Familiarise yourself with the Silent Solution, reporting abuse without speaking down the phone, instead dialing “55”.
- Always keep some money on you, including change for a pay phone or bus fare.
- If you suspect your partner is about to attack you, try to go to a lower-risk area of the house – for example, where there is a way out and access to a telephone.
- Avoid the kitchen and garage, where there are likely to be knives or other weapons. Avoid rooms where you might become trapped, such as the bathroom, or where you might be shut into a cupboard or other small space.
If you are a victim of domestic abuse, SupportLine is open Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday from 6pm to 8pm on 01708 765200. The charity’s email support service is open weekdays and weekends during the crisis – [email protected].
Women’s Aid provides a - available weekdays from 8am-6pm and weekends 10am-6pm.
You can also call the freephone 24-hour National Domestic Abuse Helpline on 0808 2000 247.
His wife, who has stood by him, was away in Morocco when the rape took place in June 2019 and their dreams of adopting a child were ruined by his criminal act.
El Farihi had used sex workers in the past and cheated on his wife.
Jean-Pierre Marechal
The 63-year-old father-of-five has been described as Pelicot’s pupil.
Marechal is the one defendant not accused of raping Gisele.
Instead he learned from Pelicot how to drug and rape his own wife.
The truck driver invited his ‘teacher’ to join in and was almost caught when his wife woke up.
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Unlike many of the other defendants, Marechal showed remorse for his crimes.
He said: "I did disgusting things. I am a criminal and a rapist. What I did is appalling, I want a severe punishment."
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