At the Mazan rape trial, the broadcast of the first videos of an accused plunges the courtroom into great unease

Ten photos and three videos were shown on Thursday afternoon, at the request of the attorney general, in the face of the denials of Jacques C., 72, who does not admit to raping Gisèle Pelicot, but to “sexual assault”.

We knew this moment was coming. That the images would eventually be shown. As unbearable as they were. On Thursday, September 19, the Vaucluse criminal court witnessed, for the first time, the broadcast of photos and videos of rapes inflicted by Dominique Pelicot on his wife, in the company of another accused: Jacques C. The 72-year-old man was heard this afternoon as part of his interrogation.

“You told me that you do not recognize rape, but sexual assault”declares the president Roger Arata, in preamble. The accused, who lived in Mazan at the time of the events, the same village as the Pelicot couple, agrees: “I keep exactly the same terms on the things I have been able to do.” The president recalls that he is nevertheless being prosecuted for “aggravated rape” of Gisèle Pelicot, for acts dating back to the evening of February 24, 2020. Jacques C. assures that he has “performed cunnilingus, but without the tongue”, and denies having “insert a finger” in the victim’s vagina, contrary to what investigators who viewed the videos claim.

The president insists and recalls that in the context of cunnilingus, “there may be penetration”specifying that “A woman’s sex begins at the labia minora.” The septuagenarian claims that “They were more like pubic kisses.”. Faced with these denials, the attorney general requests that the photos and videos in which Jacques C. appears be broadcast. As the day before, when 27 intimate photos of her were shown to the court, Gisèle Pelicot agrees that the journalists remain. But wants the public to leave the broadcast room.

These images are only a tiny part of the nearly 4,000 photos and videos found on various computers, USB sticks or hard drives belonging to Dominique Pelicot, who named and stored them meticulously. In a completely silent room, the president announces that he is opening the “ABUSE” file. He launches ten photos from the evening of February 24, 2020, then three videos.

On the first video, named “Cunnilingus and blowjob Jacques”the victim appears in provocative underwear. She snores loudly, knocked out by the anxiolytics administered against her will by her husband. The two men whisper. Jacques C. is naked, he approaches her, caresses her breasts, her body, and performs several cunnilinguses. He then performs fellatio on Dominique Pelicot. “We move on to the second recording entitled: ‘Jacques doigtage'”said the president. It only lasts a few seconds. Finally, the last video, abject: “Blowjob me”. Dominique Pelicot is seen performing oral sex on his unconscious wife. She is filmed in close-up and appears on the verge of suffocation for a few moments.

Sitting in his box, the latter stares fixedly at the images filmed at his home, in the marital bedroom. Some of the accused do the same. Others, many, lower their heads. Gisèle Pelicot looks away. She then drinks a large glass of water. Aware, perhaps, that a new infinitely painful stage of this trial is about to open: it will undoubtedly be necessary, for all the accused who do not recognize the facts alleged, to go through this humiliating viewing. There are 35 accused, out of 51 in total, who contest the facts of rape.

The video ends. Total silence. The president lets a few seconds pass, which seem endless. “So who’s next to speak?” he asks. His discomfort is palpable. Antoine Camus, the lawyer for Gisèle Pelicot and her family, leans towards his microphone and asks the accused: “Do you still feel that throughout your life you have had great respect for women?” in reference to a sentence spoken by Jacques C. a few minutes before.

Dominique Pelicot is then invited to speak. “There was cunnilingus with a penetrating tongue, I know, because I was in the front row,” he says without blinking. “As well as digital penetrations”, he adds. He also assures that it was indeed Jacques C. who filmed the fellatio he performed on his wife. Which the person concerned denies. In one go, Dominique Pelicot demolished the defense of his co-accused.