In the French city of Avignon, 51 men are on trial for raping the wife of one of them, Dominique Pelicot, with chemical agents. The trial has been suspended due to health problems of the main defendant, who is in hospital.
Jean-Pierre Maréchal, one of the 51 men tried in Avignon in the Dominique Pelicot case, has admitted in court that he also drugged and raped his own wife. He has stated that it was Pelicot who inspired him to do what he did, and that he imitated him in the procedure of subjecting his wife to chemical subjugation.
For more than ten years, Dominique Pelicot drugged his wife Gisèle and offered her body to other men via the internet, who arranged visits to the marital home to rape the woman while she was unconscious. The man also recorded and saved the attacks on his computer without the woman knowing what was happening.
The case came to light in September 2020 when Pelicot was caught recording upskirt footage of other women in a supermarket. At the time, police discovered the files that the main defendant kept in his home and managed to identify fifty of the men who had responded to Pelicot’s call and raped his wife.
They are all being tried in a trial that will last until December. The majority defense focuses on the claim that they did not know Gisèle was unconscious.
However, Maréchal has admitted the facts and stated that he imitated Pelicot to do the same to his own wife. His lawyer has stressed that he has not tried to avoid responsibility and that he shows remorse.
In the same way he has insisted the role of “catalyst” that Dominique Pelicot had so that Maréchal “waved” and, according to his instructions, drugged his wife with anxiolytics so that both men would rape her once she was unconscious.
In the words of this lawyer, Pelicot made contact with his accomplice through an online messaging service and it was he who suggested that he resort to chemical submission. In fact, he claims that this was so the main defendant in this case was the one who supplied the drugsMaréchal’s wife did not want to expose her husband.
This Thursday, The trial has been adjourned until next Mondaypending news on the health status of Dominique Pelicot, who is in hospital with health problems. The judge has indicated that if it is not remedied, this could lead to a much longer delay.
Source: EITB
I’m Wayne Wickman, a professional journalist and author for Today Times Live. My specialty is covering global news and current events, offering readers a unique perspective on the world’s most pressing issues. I’m passionate about storytelling and helping people stay informed on the goings-on of our planet.
