Gisèle Pelicot rape trial latest: Security guard who caught Dominique says he saw ‘fear in his eyes’
Ms Pelicot’s ex-husband Dominique Pelicot admitted to drugging and raping her for almost a decade
The security guard who caught Dominique Pelicot upskirting women at a supermarket, which led to the discovery of his heinous crimes, has recalled the “terror” and “fear” in his eyes.
Thibaut Rey, 38, spotted the serial rapist taking images of three women at the LeClerc shopping centre and confronted him, holding his phone until police arrived to make their arrest.
“Pelicot didn’t resist. He froze with terror. I saw the fear in his eyes,” he said.
French President Emmanuel Macron has praised Pelicot’s wife and mass rape victim Gisèle for her dignity and courage which has “moved and inspired France and around the world”.
It comes as her children condemn the “low” sentences in France’s most shocking rape case which saw 51 men convicted for a total of 428 years.
Ex-husband Dominique Pelicot wept as he was convicted and jailed for the maximum term of 20 years, after he admitted he drugged his wife so he and strangers could abuse her while he filmed it.
‘Mr Everyman’: Who are the 51 men who sexually abused Gisèle Pelicot?
Every word of Gisele Pelicot’s statement outside courtroom where 51 men were sentenced for abusing her- As her husband is jailed for his heinous crimes, we must ask: how many more Gisèle Pelicots are there?
Where are all the men horrified by Gisele Pelicot’s rape trial?
How a security guard helped Gisèle Pelicot discover her husband was drugging her in campaign of abuse
How a security guard helped Gisèle Pelicot discover her husband was drugging her
Gisèle Pelicot has ‘no fear’ over another trial as two men convicted of her rape lodge appeals
Gisèle Pelicot has ‘no fear’ over another trial as appeals are lodged
Full report: Security guard who caught Dominique Pelicot recalls he saw ‘terror and ‘fear’ in his eyes
Security guard who caught Dominique Pelicot recalls he saw ‘terror’ in his eyes
Gisele has no fear of another trial, lawyer says
Gisèle Pelicot's lawyer has said that she is prepared to face another trial if necessary, after two defendants in the mass rape trial filed appeals and her ex-husband, Dominique Pelicot, is considering appealing his 20-year jail sentence.
“In any case, she has no fear of it, that is what she told us,” one of her lawyers, Stéphane Babonneau, told France Inter radio on Friday.
He said Gisèle Pelicot had felt a “sense of relief” after the panel of five judges returned guilty verdicts for all of the 51 accused in the trial. “She is very happy to be going home, she is very relieved,” he said.
“What she doesn’t want is for other victims to think ‘this lady has extraordinary strength, I couldn’t do that,’” he added.
“She doesn’t want to be seen as someone extraordinary. And in reality, she is someone who remains very simple and who has decided to try to live her life in the most normal way.”
The forgotten victim?
Dominique Pelicot was also found guilty of taking indecent images of his daughter, Caroline Darian, and his daughters-in-law, Aurore and Celine.
Caroline - who was in court on Thursday - previously told the trial she felt she was the “forgotten victim” as, unlike in her mother’s case, there was no record of the abuse she is convinced was inflicted on her.
Dominique denied drugging and abusing his daughter.
“I will never come see you and you will die alone like a dog,” she shouted at him in court.
The chain of events that led to Dominique Pelicot’s horrific crimes being uncovered
The chain of events that led to Dominique Pelicot’s horrific crimes being uncovered
Watch: Gisèle Pelicot speaks for first time after historic mass rape trial verdict
The names and sentences of all 51 men found guilty in the Gisèle Pelicot trial
‘Mr Everyman’: Who are the 51 men who sexually abused Gisèle Pelicot?
'Consent' missing from French rape law, says legal expert after Pelicot verdict
The Pelicot mass rape trial which shook France and beyond is challenging the limits of existing legislation, a French legal expert said.
“I was relieved to see that all the accused had been convicted and, secondly, surprised by certain decisions and by the lack of severity (...) of certain decisions,” said Catherine Le Magueresse, a legal expert whose work looks at feminist criticism of law and sexual violence.
“Today the average sentence for rape is around 11 years and a few months, so that means that we are below the average sentence handed down, even though we have been constantly told that this was an extraordinary trial and that the way in which the accused had raped was particularly despicable.”
Le Magueresse said that if French rape law had included the principle of consent, none of the co-accused would have received lighter sentences, a fact she said she found extremely worrying.
Coco: The anonymous chat site dubbed the ‘den of predators’ that enabled the mass rape of Gisèle Pelicot
