Avignon, France β "I am a rapist," Dominique Pelicot , the year-old Frenchman accused of drugging his wife so he and scores of strangers could assault her, told a court Tuesday, returning to the dock after being ill for around a week. Pelicot used a cane as he slowly entered the courtroom in the southern city of Avignon before sitting on a blue armchair to give him enough comfort to take part in the hearings.
Dominique Pelicot is accused of administering anti-anxiety drugs to Gisele over a period of almost a decade, from to While she was unconscious, he would rape her and recruited dozens of other men he met online to do the same.
She has said she spent years speaking to doctors about unexplained amnesia, not realizing her husband was drugging her regularly. Dominique Pelicot was only thwarted by chance, when police seized his digital devices after catching him capturing images up women's clothing at a store.
They found hundreds of images of the abuse of his wife, who credited the police with saving her life by making the discovery. He had already admitted the charges, but Tuesday was the first time he'd spoken at any length since the trial began on Sept.
The court may also hear more from Gisele Pelicot, who was present in the courtroom alongside Dominique's brother Joel. Beatrice Zavarro, the defendant's lawyer, told AFP on Monday that he was suffering from "a clot in the bladder" and the beginning of a kidney infection. But a medical exam ordered by the presiding judge found that he was in a fit state to appear in court, avoiding a delay of weeks or even months to the hearings. Adjustments would be made to the "sequencing of the hearings" and Dominique Pelicot would get "regular rest," Zavarro said, adding that the health complaints were not an attempt by her client to escape justice.
