The Vaucluse criminal court examines this week the case of the last seven accused at the Mazan rape trial. This tenth week will be devoted to these seven men tried for aggravated rape of Gisèle Pelicot.
Christian L., 56 ans
Christian L. appears in Dominique Pelicot's hard drive under the pseudonym “Chris the Fireman”. At the time of his arrest, this professional firefighter was assistant to the head of a rescue center in Nord-Vaucluse. He also wears the uniform of the Vaucluse firefighters in the sex scene filmed by Dominique Pelicot in Mazan.
Numerous computer media were seized from his home by investigators. And in the laptop of this father of two daughters, 728 images were discovered: images of a sexual nature and images of young girlseven very young girls. Skype conversations were also discovered : Christian L., under the nickname “Oxney 01”, solicits relationships with teenage girls and an Internet user even offers him his “9 year old niece”. These Internet users could not be identified.
Christian L. denied the facts at the opening of the trial. Since then, he has regularly attended the hearings of the other accused from the box. He will also be tried for possession of child pornography images.
Charly A., 30 ans
Charly A. was only 21 years old when he went to Mazan for the first time, in January 2016. He went there six times in total, between January 2016 and June 2020, and was arrested in early 2021, at the home of his mother in Carpentras. During the last meeting, Dominique Pelicot asked him with which woman he could do the same thingand Charly A. replied her mother, the only female person in her entourage. Very low concentrations of anxiolytics were found in her mother's hair, even though Charly A. said she ultimately threw away the pills provided by Dominique Pelicot.
Facing investigators, Charly A. admitted to going to the Pelicots six times. He explained that he understood that the victim was drugged during her second or third visit, because he found it unusual that she did not wake up. Charly A. is described by experts as “solitaire”, “naive” et “very reserved” and as having grown up in “an unstable and unsuitable environment”.
“It seems that the scenario developed by the victim’s spouse did not allow him to realize the victim’s non-consent”according to the psychologist expert. At the start of the trial, he claimed that he did not recognize the facts.
Nicolas F., 42 years old
Journalist for various Avignon media at the time of the events, Nicolas F. went to Mazan once in January 2018. He assures that Dominique Pelicot contacted him on coco for a relationship between menwhile his wife slept in the next room. Faced with investigators, Nicolas F. claims to have been “surprised by inertia” of Gisèle Pelicot, but having carried out the touching, “as her husband assured her he agreed”. He then admitted that he had “a big lack of discernment”.
In the various computer media seized by the investigators, 4,274 images and 262 videos of child pornography were discovered. Nicolas F. ensures “don't know how these photos and videos” ended up on his computer. Those close to him describe him as a man “pleasant”, “worker”, “funny”, “loyal” but qualify his private life as “discreet, even secret”. He will also be tried for possession of child pornography images.
At the start of the hearing, he denied everything : the aggravated rape of Gisèle Pelicot and the detention of these images.
Boris M., 37 ans
This single childless person, employee of a transport company, once went to the Pelicots in Mazan, in January 2020. His statements evolved in police custodybut Boris M. ended up recognizing that Gisèle Pelicot had not given him her consent. He claims that he did not know that she was drugged and believed Dominique Pelicot who explained to him that she had been drinking.
Boris M. has been described by his previous companions as a “caring and loving companion” but the psychological expertise reports a “fairly poor emotional life where interrelational exchanges are experienced as constraints”. At the start of the trial, Boris M. said he did not recognize the facts.
Philippe L., 62 years old
Philippe L. appears in Dominique Pelicot's hard drive on files dated June 7, 2018 around 3 p.m. In certain images, Gisèle Pelicot appears with a cloth on her face, placed according to Dominique Pelicot to prevent her from waking up since the events took place in broad daylight. During the investigation, he explained that he had participated in a “couple agreement” where the chemical submission was “player of the game”.
Single and childless, accustomed to libertine relationships and casual sex, Philippe L. is one of the rare defendants to be wearing a condom at the time of the incident. He admitted to never having obtained consent from Gisèle Pelicot since he had never seen her conscious. At the start of the trial, he admitted the acts of rape, but denied “l’intention”.
Nizar H., 40 years old
Born in Tunisia, Nizar H. arrived in France at the age of 17. He is referred to as “Karime” in a video file from Dominique Pelicot’s hard drive dating from October 10, 2020. Confronted with this video, Nizar H. declared that he was “fell into a trap” et having followed what Dominique Pelicot asked him to do. Confronted with the main accused, he claimed to have been drugged with GHB on the day of the incident, seeing no other explanation for his sexual relationship with a sleeping 68-year-old woman.
The psychologist expert notes that Nizar H. “does not refer to the victim as a personexcept in a pejorative way like an undesirable old woman”. His criminal record contains eight mentions, notably for death threats and domestic violence. He answered “no” when the president asked him if he admitted the facts at the start of the trial.
Joseph C., 69 ans
Joseph C. is the only one of the co-accused to be prosecuted for “sexual assault in a meeting” and risks seven years in prison (compared to 20 years for the others, prosecuted for aggravated rape). He is referred to as “Patrick de Bedoin” in a file on Dominique Pelicot's hard drive. On this video, we see him with another accused, Romain V., whose case was mentioned last week.
At the time of his arrest, this retiree declared that he had been practicing libertinism for several years and was registered on libertine and dating sites. He assured that it was recurrent that there were scenarios in libertine encounters, but thathe didn't feel comfortable once there and he had doubts about the wife's consent. He explained to investigators that he had not reported the facts for fear that Dominique Pelicot would have recordings against him. At the start of the trial, he denied the facts. “I do not recognize the facts of sexual assault and I never knew that the victim was under a substance”he declared.
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