The town of 5,000 inhabitants in Vaucluse has been at the heart of the news since the opening of the “Mazan rapes” trial. Questions are being asked in particular about the unidentified men in this case.
This is the story of an ordinary little town of 5,000 inhabitants in Vaucluse, now associated with one of the most sordid news stories of recent years. Since the beginning of September, Mazan has been living to the rhythm of the trial of Dominique Pelicot and fifty men.
The latter, aged 26 to 74, are being prosecuted for aggravated rape alongside Dominique Pelicot. The accused face up to twenty years of criminal imprisonment for these acts which took place between July 2011 and October 2020. In the victims’ box is Gisèle Pelicot, his partner who was drugged without his knowledge for years and the victim of numerous sexual assaults.
Twenty men still not identified by investigators
This major affair has shaken the inhabitants of this usually calm town in Vaucluse. “It’s still shocking for a small village, we didn’t expect it at all,” a resident told BFMTV.
“We say to ourselves that it’s not possible, that they’ve got the wrong village, it’s not ours,” one local woman can’t believe it.
Investigators suspect twenty other men of being involved in this case, leading to suspicion among several Mazan residents. “We can be led to say to ourselves that it could be anyone around us. Personally, I don’t think about it too much, I’m not paranoid, but there you go, twenty are missing… If not more,” shares a young Mazanaise.
Suspicions that have no reason to exist for the mayor of the commune, Louis Bonnet. “If they have not been identified, it is because we do not recognize them in the village. Here we are with about twenty unidentified people who must sometimes come from far away”, estimates the mayor.
Rapes in Mazan: How to cover up the horror
The trial opened on September 2 before the Vaucluse Criminal Court. Since then, the health of Dominique Pelicot, 71, has been one of the main concerns. The latter has been absent from the hearing since September 8 and was examined by a doctor, who “confirms the implementation of appropriate treatment, with possible hospitalization.”
On September 14, Me Béatrice Zavarro, Dominique Pelicot’s lawyer, was able to meet her client. The man appeared “in pajamas, feverish, in a state that is not improving,” she detailed to BFMTV.
If Dominique Pelicot’s absence were to continue, the case could be adjourned.
Alexis Pluyette, Mathilde Couvillers-Flornoy et Matthieu Heyman
