It was one of the most anticipated days of this trial. On Tuesday, September 10, 2024, Dominique Pélicot was due to testify before the Vaucluse departmental criminal court, where he has been on trial for over a week now. The septuagenarian, accused of “aggravated rape” and “administration of harmful substances,” was due to give his account of the decade during which he drugged his wife Gisèle to offer her to strangers who came to rape her in a lethargic state. Fifty of them, those who could be identified in the photos and videos found by investigators, are being tried alongside him in this extraordinary case. A crucial interrogation – like that of Gisèle Pélicot before him – in this highly publicized trial, which is expected to last around four months. Unfortunately, already absent on Monday, September 9 for health reasons, Dominique Pélicot once again did not appear at the hearing on this decisive day.
Roger Arata, the presiding judge, announced that Dominique Pélicot would ultimately not testify on Tuesday, as he was “still suffering”. The 71-year-old man had “samples taken for analysis” the day before, after complaining of “intestinal pain” and a possible “urinary tract infection”. Since the prison was not “able to provide a medical consultation” before Thursday, the magistrate therefore requested “urgent care, starting today” so that the defendant could attend the proceedings as soon as possible. An “absolute (…)
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