Mazan rape trial: accused heard

It was an applauded and combative Gisèle Pelicot who left the Avignon courthouse at the end of the day, Thursday, September 19. A few minutes earlier, Three videos were shown in the room. They show the pensioner lying inert in a bed, attacked and raped in the presence of her husband and Jacques C., 72, a former firefighter and truck driver. “I was naive, I thought that Mrs. Pelicot would wake up. I was far from thinking that she was in this state and that she would not wake up”he said. He admits to the touching but not the rape.

Over the course of four months, 51 defendants will be tried. They are between 26 and 73 years old and are nurses, engineers or job seekers. Most of them have no criminal records. That very morning, a 44-year-old salesman appeared. He admitted the facts at the start of the hearing. “I never meant to hurt you but I did. I want to ask for your forgiveness.”he told Gisèle Pelicot. Others will give their version of events on Friday, September 20.