Gisèle Pelicot rape trial latest: Security guard who caught Dominique says he saw ‘fear in his eyes’

Gisèle Pelicot defiantly said she has “never regretted” publicly attending her rape trial as she spoke out for the first time since her ex-husband Dominique Pelicot was jailed for 20 years.

France’s worst-ever mass rape trial saw 51 men convicted for a total of 428 years today (19 December), in a case which has shocked the world.

Explaining why she chose to waive her right to anonymity, Ms Pelicot told the media after the verdicts: “I wanted... to ensure that society could see what was happening. I never have regretted this decision. I have now faith in our capacity to collectively take hold of a future in which everybody... can live together in harmony, respect, and mutual understanding.”

Ms Pelicot’s ex-husband, dubbed the Monster of Avignon, was jailed after being found guilty of orchestrating her horrific rape.

Watch here:

The daughter of Dominique Pelicot, dubbed the Monster of Avignon, screamed out in court that he would “die like a dog” as he issued his final statement of the trial.

Pelicot had been accused of drugging his daughter, Caroline, when she was 20, and taking photos of her naked in bed in lingerie which she didn’t recognise. The images were found years later.

In his final statement of the trial which appalled the world, Pelicot said according to the Daily Mail: I would like to look my daughter straight in the eye and tell her that I did nothing [to her].”

But Caroline Darian, his daughter, shouted out in court: “I’ll never go to see you ever. You’ll finish alone like a dog.”

He replied, according to the Telegraph: “If I had taken [the photos] I would say so, but I can’t remember. She will never believe me. I may die like a dog. I am not asking her to stand behind my coffin [when I die]. There won’t be a coffin.”

“Even if she doesn’t love me any more, I will always love her. I know what I did. I know what I didn’t do.”

Gisèle Pelicot has left the courtroom in Avignon, southern France.

Ms Pelicot appeared calm as she walked down the steps of the courthouse which she has visited almost every day since September, to hear the devastating details of crimes committed against her.

She held herself with dignity as she exited the courts and was swarmed by her supporters who have spent all morning singing, chanting and holding placards.

They shouted “merci Gisèle” and “bravo Gisèle”, before she departed for the final time in a grey car.

As she was driven away, emotional crowds sang songs including with the lyrics: “the women are enraged”.

Of her decision to waive her anonymity, Ms Pelicot said she “wanted to ensure that society could actually see what was happening and I never regretted this decision”.

She said she has “faith in our capacity to collectively take hold of our future”.

Ms Pelicot added that she respects the verdicts and sentences of the court.

Gisèle Pelicot has spoken with members of the press after 51 men were convicted todday in France’s largest mass rape case.

“I’m very emotional,” she says. “It’s with a lot of emotion that I’m here to make a statement. This case was a very difficult test for me and I’m thinking first and foremost of my three children.

“I’m thinking about all the other families affected by this case and the unrecognised victims in these stories that are often in the shadows - you share my struggle.”

She expresses “deepest gratitude” to those who supported her throughout the process. “This really gave me strength to come back day after day”.

Jean Tirano, a 52-year-old roofer originally from Reunion Island, claims he was acting under the influence of drugs when he raped Gisèle Pelicot.

He has been sentenced to eight years in prison after raping Ms Pelicot in September 2018.

After arriving at the house, Tirano claims Dominique Pelicot gave him a drink before asking him to undress. “And after that, I don’t remember anymore”, he told the court according to Liberation. “I found myself in the car, I don’t remember how I got there.”

He claims Pelicot had drugged him using the drink.

The video of his abuse shows his abrupt exit from the room after Ms Pelicot moves and a thumbs up to the camera. But Tirano claims he has no memory of this.

“No, I don’t remember... It would be good for the victim, for the truth. And to defend myself . Now I’m seen as a liar or an idiot.”

He didn’t go to the police as he feared having to explain what he had done to his wife, Tirano claimed. “I’m not the kind of person who looks for trouble,” he added.

The president of France’s National Assembly has issued words of support for Gisèle Pelicot.

She wrote on X: “Thank you for your courage Gisèle Pélicot. Through you, it is the voice of so many victims that carries today, the shame that changes sides, the taboo that is broken.

“The world is no longer the same thanks to you.”