“I don’t know if I was raped! It’s terrible, I will always remain in doubt,” exclaimed Monday, in tears, the ex-partner of one of the 50 co-accused of the Mazan rapes, before the criminal court of Vaucluse.
Emilie O., 33, explained in court that she questions herself daily about whether or not her ex-partner, Hugues M., 39, could have reproduced on her the same procedure that Dominique Pelicot did on his ex-wife for 10 years: drugging her with anxiolytics, raping her or even having her raped by dozens of strangers recruited on the internet.
“I was manipulated and lived a lie. I loved my life.” but “I always remain in questioning”she explained, standing in front of her former partner, without looking at him, with whom she had lived for five years.
Then in a relationship, the latter, a tiler by trade, went to the Pelicot home one night in 2019 to sexually assault Gisèle alongside her ex-husband, Dominique.
“Diligent sex”
He has been on trial since September 2 in Avignon alongside 50 co-defendants aged 26 to 74 – a nurse, firefighter, journalist, computer scientist, etc. – in a trial that has become emblematic of chemical submission and sexual violence.
“I thought I was living a peaceful and fulfilling life, but I was wrong.”she added, speaking of a companion “always respectful, considerate, gentle”with whom she had “regular sexual relations” and shared their common passion for motorcycles.
Their relationship ended in November 2020 when she found out he was having several extramarital affairs. “He said he felt urges and a need for adrenaline that he only found when riding a motorbike and in his sexual relations.”she said.
“Nightmare”
Her life, which she is trying to rebuild, is turned upside down again when, in September 2021, she receives a call from the Avignon judicial police.
“I was summoned and then I was told that Hugues had raped a woman in October 2019, a few days before my birthday. I didn’t believe them, I was stunned, shocked, I asked to see the photo and then I realized that it wasn’t a nightmare.”she detailed.
Hugues M. has since been prosecuted for “attempted rape”, having failed to achieve penetration.
She then recalls a night in 2019 when she woke up to find her partner having sex with her while she was sleeping. She had also been “dizzy spell” between September 2019 and March 2020 and had filed a complaint. However, the tests carried out on her during the investigation to detect possible chemical submission did not reveal anything and her complaint was dismissed, “for lack of material evidence”.
Despite everything, she lives with the doubt of having been a victim of chemical submission.
Emilie O. collapsed in tears as she stared at Gisèle Pelicot, who smiled at her as a sign of support. In addition to Hugues M., the court began examining the facts on Monday for five co-accused, including Joan K., the youngest, now 26 years old but who was 22 at the time of the events, suspected of having gone twice to the Pelicot couple’s home in Mazan, a small town in Vaucluse, to rape Gisèle.
Including once in November 2019, rather than attending the birth of his partner, from whom he had separated. “depressive character” by investigators, he should explain his actions at the end of the week.
The courtroom was very empty for the first time since the trial opened on September 2, due to the numerous exemptions granted by the president to defendants not directly involved in the events this week. Each time she arrives and leaves the court, Gisèle Pelicot always receives thunderous applause from the public.
mazan rape trial mazan rapes Gisèle Pelicot Dominique Pelicot Miscellaneous France
