The many horrors of the Pelicot rape trial

THE TRIAL OF DOMINIQUE PELICOT, THE MAN IN THE South of France who pleaded guilty in September to charges of secretly drugging his wife of 50 years, Gisele, and, over the course of about a decade, filming dozens of men as they had sex with her while she was sedated, would have been disturbing enough just as the story of an epically vile husband.

- BELINDA LUSCONIBE

But perhaps there are even more puzzling and horrifying questions about the other men. Who were they? How could they? How can there be so many men willing to rape an unconscious woman?

Over the past five weeks of the trial, which began on Sept. z in Avignon, the five judges-and aghast onlookers from around the world-have had the chance to hear from several of Dominique Pelicot's 50 co-defendants, most of whom have been charged with aggravated rape. It would be comforting to think that there are more psychopaths and sexual deviants in that part of France than elsewhere, but it does not seem to be the case.

Clearly, Dominique Pelicot, 71, is a deranged, deceptive, and dangerous human. But most of the accused are unremarkable men with no criminal record who say they are not guilty of rape. Many have offered similar rationales for their behavior: they didn't think it was nonconsensual. They thought they had license to have sex with Mrs. Pelicot, because they had permission from Mr. Pelicot.

One of the defendants, a 43-year-old carpenter, who went to the Pelicots' home in October 2019 and again in January 2020, told the judges that after Dominique Pelicot told him Gisele, now 7z, was a consenting partner in a sex game, he hadn't given the matter of her willingness much more consideration. He was "at a couple's home, invited by the husband," he said. "Now that I am being told how the events unfolded, yes, the acts I committed would amount to rape," he added, but still claimed he was innocent ofthe charge.