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

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.”

Jean-Pierre Marechal was found guilty of the attempted rape and aggravated rape of his own wife, and of drugging her.

Marechal was sentenced to 12 years in prison, after admitting to following Dominique Pelicot’s lead by drugging his own wife for five years.

He raped his wife, and invited Pelicot to rape her.

Marechard’s lawyer, Patrick Fontard, said his client would not be appealing the verdict, but that his client could be free in three years time.

By now, Gisèle Pelicot is a household name – for all the wrong and most tragic of reasons.

Since September – when she bravely waived anonymity and testified against her husband Dominique – horrific details of how he drugged her, raped her and facilitated her rape by at least 50 other men have slowly come to light.

She has faced her abusers throughout the trial in Avignon, France, attending almost every court date. She has spoken of how “broken” she is and how her decision to be named was to help shift the shame felt by victims of rape and place it rightly on the assailants’ shoulders.

“I am a woman who is totally destroyed, and I don’t know how I’m going to rebuild myself. I’m 72 soon and I’m not sure my life will be long enough to recover from this,” she said of the abuse that spanned nine years.

Emma Clarke writes:

The 51 men accused in France’s largest mass rape trial have been sentenced to a total of 428 years, according to French outlet Le Monde.

Of the 51 found guilty - which includes Dominique Pelicot - 47 were convicted of rape, two of attempted rape and two of sexual assault.