Dominique Pélicot was sentenced to 20 years in prison for drugging his wife Gisèle in order to rape her and hand her over to dozens of strangers.
For her, it’s an “earthquake”. Almost a month after the conviction of Dominique Pelicot to 20 years in prison for aggravated rape of his ex-wife Gisèle Pelicot, their daughter, Caroline Darian, returns for the first time to the Mazan rape affair in an exclusive interview to the BBC.
“He should die in prison, he is a dangerous man,” she said during this interview which will be broadcast Monday evening on BBC Two, the first since the end of the historic Mazan trial in Avignon on December 19, 2024. .
“Difficult to integrate all this”
Caroline Darian, 46, has overturned her conviction ofhaving also been a victim of her fatherafter seeing photos of her unconscious, lying on a bed in underwear she doesn’t recognize.
“I am convinced that I was drugged to be raped (…) but I have no proof. [Dominique Pelicot] always denied it, but he gave different versions each time,” she regretted.
During the Mazan trial, which had an impact around the world, 51 men were convicted and sentenced for raping Gisèle Pelicotwho became a feminist heroine for having notably refused to go behind closed doors.
According to Caroline Darian, the latter had difficulty accepting the idea that her ex-husband could also have assaulted her daughter: “For a mother, it’s difficult to integrate all of this at once.”
On January 21, France 2 will broadcast the documentary “Chemical submission: so that shame changes sides”, narrated by Caroline Darian who has become a leading figure in the fight against this scourge.
Dominique Pelicot “will die a lie”
During the trial, which she said was “the great forgotten one”she had a violent face-to-face with her “father”, ordered to “tell the truth” about her.
“You will die a lie! Alone, alone in a lie, Dominique Pelicot!”, she said after he once again denied it.
The latter accepted his sanction and will not appealunlike 17 of the other convicted defendants.
“When I look back, I don’t really remember the father I thought he was. I see directly the sex criminal,” Caroline Darian told the BBC.
“I think there are two Dominiques coexisting inside him, and he decided to choose the dark side. I don’t know if he’s a monster, but he knew perfectly well what he was doing. He’s not not sick,” added her daughter.
