French mass rape suspect among 'worst sexual criminals'

The daughter of a Frenchman on trial for enlisting strangers to rape his drugged wife on Sept 6 described him as “likely one of the worst sexual criminals in the past 20 years".

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Dominique Pelicot, a 71-year-old retiree, has admitted to abusing his wife without her knowledge between 2011 and 2020, drugging her with sleeping pills and then recruiting dozens of strangers to rape her in her own home.

"How are we supposed to rebuild ourselves when we know" what he did, his daughter, 45-year-old Caroline Darian who uses a pen name - said in court in the southern city of Avignon on the fifth day of a case that has horrified France.

Pelicot kept meticulous records of the abuse of his wife, which police discovered only by chance after he was caught filming up women's skirts in a supermarket.

His wife Gisele Pelicot, now aged 71 and in divorce proceedings, said she had been troubled for years by strange memory lapses until she was contacted by the police.

Speaking to the court on the morning of Sept 6, their daughter, Ms Darian, recounted learning of the alleged abuse on Nov 2, 2020, from her mother after she had spoken to investigators.

"My life was literally turned upside down," Ms Darian said.