It was the first time he had seen his children in four years and they were the ones he addressed in his final statement at the Avignon Court in southern France. “I insist that I never touched my children or my grandchildren.. In any case, I keep them in my heart,” said Dominique Pelicot, visibly moved. The man guarantees that he never abused other family members, but he confessed, from the moment he was arrested and accused, to having drugged his ex-wife, Gisèle Pelicot, for ten years, to leave her in a state of total unconsciousness. and allowing dozens of unknown men she met online to rape her.

This Tuesday, both the aggressor and the main victim in the case gave their final statements in a trial that began in September and is expected to have a verdict next month. The former couple’s three children were present in the courtroom throughout the day. In the morning, Gisèle Pelicot took the stand and was accused by the defendant’s defense of not being able to fully condemn her ex-husband, although she assured that the actions of the man who abused her for years are “unforgivable.”

In the cross-examination phase of the testimony, Gisèle Pelicot’s lawyer asked Dominique Pelicot about files stored on her computer showing nude images of her daughter Caroline. “I can tell you, looking you right in the eye, that I never touched you,” he said, turning toward the courtroom where his daughter was: “Caroline, I never touched you.”

At that time, as the BBC describes, reporting on the trial session from the Avignon Court, Caroline screamed.: “You’re lying. I’m tired of your lies. You are alone in your lies, you will die lying.”

From “dad” to “father”. The revelations of Gisèle Pelicot’s daughter who lives without knowing if she was sexually abused by her father

Dominique was also questioned about the fact that he had not removed the incriminating files —he kept dozens of videos of the abuse of his wife—when he was about to be caught, after one of the incidents of upskirt and having already been questioned by the police. Pelicot guarantees that he did not delete the videos because he intended to tell everything to his then wife and main victim. “I didn’t have the courage because I didn’t want to lose everything,” he admitted, saying he felt like the “living dead” as he continued to abuse his wife for more than a decade.

Pelicot also spoke again in court about the sexual abuse he suffered as a child, which experts said caused a split in his personality. He stated, however, that these experiences do not “excuse anything” of what he did. He admitted that, at the root of the abuse, there was a need to “control women.” “Here is my reason. You can do whatever you want with this,” he revealed in his response to Gisèle Pelicot’s defense lawyers.

“When you go to a casino, play and lose, you can’t blame the casino,” attacker says of co-defendants

The main aggressor and “conductor” of serial sexual abuse of his own wife for ten years denied any manipulation of the remaining 47 defendants, men of all ages who went to the former couple’s house to abuse Gisèle Pelicot while she was unconscious.

“To be honest, yes [os outros arguidos] “If they weren’t here, I wouldn’t be here either,” he said, denying that he manipulated the remaining attackers. The line of defense of some of them in this trial is that they were not aware of the lack of consent on the part of the woman, claiming to consider that they were participating in a “sexual game” between the couple.

The defense of many other attackers also claims that their clients were drugged, as was the case with the victim. “If it’s something I would do, why wouldn’t I have done it with all of them? Please answer me,” asked Dominique Pelicot, who says that everyone is taking advantage of these alleged means of manipulation.to save yourself“.

Gisèle Pelicot testified for the last time in court. Accused of not being able to fully condemn her ex-husband, she guarantees that actions cannot be forgiven

“When you go to a casino, You play and lose, you can’t blame the casino.“He said, referring to the sexual abuse scheme set up by him. He later apologized to the judges for the expression he used. According to the BBC reporter in court, the sentence of the main defendant generated laughter in the courtroom, even among some of the co-defendants.

One of the defense lawyers also confronted Dominique Pelicot with the fact that he had taught other men how to drug their wives, sharing his method. The man blamed another man who, before him, “posed as a nurse” and who taught him how to render the woman unconscious. He also admitted that “there was always something inside him” that led him to violently abuse his own wife and told the court that he has received psychiatric help for the past four years, during which time he has been detained.

Pelicot denies wanting to be known as a ‘prolific’ sex offender

Another lawyer questioned Dominique Pelicot and asked him if he wanted to be known in the future as a “prolific” criminal. “When I come here, people insult me, I’m not a star”, he assured, admitting that he would prefer the family not to be going through all this.

The same element of his defense questions whether “there is still some goodness” in him. He responds that “I hope so.” Pelicot also claims that he had two gods in his life. “My mother for 18 years and my wife for 50 years,” he said. The lawyer then asked if Dominique still loves his wife. “I don’t think this is reciprocated,” admits the attacker. The defender goes further and wonders if he “loved his wife too much” to do what he did.

The room erupted in protests at the lawyer’s question. Dominique Pelicot responded: “You may be partly right..”

The court session was adjourned around 6pm on Tuesday afternoon, local time in France, after the main accused was questioned for several hours. The trial will resume on Wednesday at 9 a.m. and Dominique Pelicot’s testimony will continue.