On the seventh day of the hearing, one of the investigators from the Avignon judicial police gave a very crude description of some of the videos found on Dominique Pelicot’s hard drive.
“I have 33 years of PJ [police judiciaire] behind me, I have rarely been inclined to watch videos…” Stéphan Gal, the investigation director who came to testify on Tuesday, September 10, before the Vaucluse criminal court, struggles to put his feelings into words. “It was almost always the same thing, it was sordid, impressive”he continues, describing the impact that watching the videos of rapes committed by 72 men on Gisèle Pelicot had on him.
Only 54 of them could be identified. One has since died and two have been cleared of charges due to insufficient evidence, as Jérémie Bosse Platière, the other director of this sprawling investigation, explained last Wednesday. So there are 50 of them appearing since September 2 alongside Dominique Pelicot. Like the day before, the latter was absent from the hearing on Tuesday for health reasons.
But his co-accused were present to hear the summary of their case. The police commander described the images “very, very gloomy” discovered by him and his colleagues on Dominique Pelicot’s hard drive. In the “Abuse” directory, it was necessary to find out who was hiding behind the pseudonyms “the biker”, “David Black” or “Rasmus”, the latter being the only one prosecuted for “aggravated rape” not on Gisèle Pelicot, but on his own wife, after following the modus operandi indicated by Dominique Pelicot.
To identify the perpetrators, the police used telephone numbers and, if necessary, entered their faces into the TAJ, the police’s facial recognition file, useful when dealing with men with criminal records. “We didn’t rely solely on the specific directory: we searched everywhere in Mr. Pelicot’s other files. We looked at the authors’ tattoos too, to make links between the videos.”describes the investigator. Because some of the accused came back several times. The task of the four investigators from the Avignon PJ, who formed a working group on this case, was somewhat facilitated by the light, always on, and often strong, of these sordid scenes.
In Stéphan Gal’s mouth, the descriptions of the videos differ from one accused to another. But many elements come back, tirelessly, like the absence of wearing a condom for several of them. The police officer also emphasizes that each time, the victim appears “totally unconscious”, sometimes describing it “open mouth”and often snoring. He also notes the care taken by everyone to “don’t make noise”. “No sudden movements.” “He whispers.” The litany continues. “No, not with your nails, that will wake her up,” Dominique Pelicot breathes. “It’s still weird,” repeats one of the authors twice.
The commissioner’s description, factual and very crude, is unbearable. He describes abject scenes, such as fellatio forced on the pensioner several times, who threatens to suffocate. Caroline Darian, the daughter of Gisèle and Dominique Pelicot, leaves the courtroom during her story, visibly in shock. She is supported by her two brothers, who also seem to be suffering. Their mother remains seated in the small square of the civil parties. It is difficult to imagine what is going on in her head. The woman who watched the videos last May, to prepare for the trial, said in court on Thursday that the accused had taken her for “a rag doll, a garbage bag”.
After the police officer spoke, the defense of the accused, arrested between February and September 2021, focused on trying to escape the effect of “globalization” of the file. Many lawyers regret that their clients are too often put “in the same bag”, as they have repeatedly mentioned since the start of the trial. Each party’s lawyers return to different aspects of the investigation, which they sometimes consider problematic, such as the questions of time stamping of the incriminating videos.
“During their hearings, the accused were very surprised to see that they were being criticised for having stayed two hours, three hours, or sometimes even seven hours,” points out a lawyer. Some claim to have only been present for a few minutes at the victim’s home. “Should the court rely on this timestamp blindly? she continues before being interrupted by the president, Roger Arata. “Blindly, no. We will hear each accused and ask their opinion, as well as that of Mr. Pelicot,” he replies. Proof, if any were needed, that the septuagenarian remains the cornerstone of this trial. He always assured investigators that the accused knew perfectly well that they were coming to rape his wife.
The debate tirelessly revolves around this question: that of the intention of the accused. Many claim to have been manipulated by Dominique Pelicot and to have believed, at least before arriving on the scene, in a “libertine scenario”, during which Gisèle Pelicot allegedly pretended to be asleep. A lawyer claims that her client is “fell into a trap”. “Master, I have seen all the videos. When you are normally constituted and you see someone in this state, you stop and go home.”retorts the police officer. And he added, responding to a question from Stéphane Babonneau, who represents the civil parties: “They were all aware that she was in a very deep sleep and they still carried out their dirty work.”