Already sentenced to 20 years of criminal imprisonment for the rapes of his wife Gisèle Pelicot in Mazan, Dominique Pelicot is still subject to several legal proceedings. His alleged involvement in other criminal cases, some unsolved for decades, continues to attract attention from investigators and the media. A look back at the facts and the accusations weighing on this former real estate agent.
Two indictments for murder and rape
Dominique Pelicot is currently under investigation for two separate cases, as detailed in an article in Ouest France.
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Murder and rape in 1991 in Paris : Sophie Narme, a 23-year-old young woman, was found dead after being drugged with ether at gunpoint during a meeting organized under false identities to visit an apartment. Dominique Pelicot denies his involvement in this murder case.
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Attempted rape in 1999 in Villeparisis : An 18-year-old young woman, identified under the pseudonym Marion, escaped an attack after being trapped during a real estate visit. Dominique Pelicot, confused by his DNA, recognized this attempted rape, which he attributes to an “impulsion” according to what he told investigators.
These two cases had stagnated for years before being relaunched thanks to DNA samples and cross-checks carried out in 2022.
Five other unsolved cases: a possible serial criminal?
The judicial police services, using tools such as the Salvac software (System for analyzing the links of violence associated with crimes), are studying potential links between Dominique Pelicot and five unsolved cases that occurred between 1994 and 2004.
All involve female real estate agents, and a similar modus operandi seems to be emerging, as Le Parisien explains: the man makes an appointment under a false name and carries out the act in the agency or in an apartment, taking advantage to be alone with the person.
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February 1994 in Vannes (Morbihan) : Danielle H., 28 years old, attacked.
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A few days later in Valenciennes (North) : Céline D., 26 years old, attacked.
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September 1995 in Rambouillet (Yvelines) : Another Céline D. raped.
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May 2000 in Berre-l’Étang (Bouches-du-Rhône) : Christine G. found dead in her agency.
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Mars 2004 : An attack interrupted by a witness in a real estate agency.
In several of these cases, DNA samples had been taken, but their exploitation is still in progress. Dominique Pelicot has not yet been formally charged, although the similarity of the crimes intrigues investigators, according to 20 minutes.
Also read >> Rapes in Mazan – Caroline Darian, daughter of Gisèle Pélicot: “More than 70 individuals came to our home to rape my mother”
A past marked by other offenses
This is not Dominique Pelicot’s first run-in with the law. In 2010, he was caught in flagrante delicto in a shopping center in Seine-et-Marne filming under the skirts of customers using a camera hidden in a pen, as Midi Libre then revealed.
This act earned him a simple fine of 100 euros. However, it was on this occasion that his DNA was taken and entered in the national genetic fingerprint file (Fnaeg), later making it possible to establish a link with old cases.
The remaining gray areas
While some accusations are based on tangible evidence such as DNA, others remain hypothetical. According to Me Florence Rault, lawyer for the victims in several cases, the research should extend beyond the cold cases already identified:
“Many victims of attempted rape do not file a complaint. A predator does not wait until retirement to become one and does not take such a long break.”
However, Me Béatrice Zavarro, Dominique Pelicot’s lawyer, denounces these new investigations as a means of “darkening his character a little more”, we read in Le Parisien.
An ongoing investigation: how many other victims?
Ongoing investigations could reveal other crimes linked to Dominique Pelicot. If the current charges are confirmed, he could be a serial criminal operating for several decades under the mask of an ordinary life.
