A man with ties to convicted French mass rapist Dominique Pelicot is on trial in Lyon, accused of drugging and raping his partner while filming the assaults and streaming them online.
The defendant, appearing before the Rhône Criminal Court on Thursday and Friday, denied the charges.
According to investigators’ findings, the 39-year-old bodyguard was “eager to benefit from Pelicot’s experience", with the alleged aim of drugging his wife before abusing her.
The Lyon case emerged from the investigation that began when Pelicot was arrested on 12 September, 2020. On his phone, investigators found messages with the defendant, in which Pelicot allegedly offered to travel to Lyon to drug and rape the man’s partner.
The suspect was arrested almost three years later, in June 2023. When police examined his phone, they found videos showing his partner unconscious while he carried out sexual acts, according to the investigation.
Pelicot, who is serving a 20-year prison sentence for raping his drugged wife and arranging for dozens of strangers to assault her, will not appear in court, according to his lawyer, Beatrice Zavarro.
Unexplained blackouts
After initially confessing, the defendant withdrew his statement and insisted he was innocent. He claimed the acts were part of a “sexual game” with the mother of his son – an account she denies.
The woman told investigators she had experienced several “blackouts” after falling asleep, as well as “severe fatigue between 2020 and 2023” without understanding why.
Investigators concluded that her “deep sleep” in the videos “rules out any form of consent” and “indicates surprise”.
The man is also accused of filming his partner without her knowledge, using a hidden camera. Investigators say the footage showed “his wife naked” in “the privacy of their bedroom”, with the alleged recording beginning from the start of their relationship in 2015.
He is suspected of distributing this material online through fake profiles created in her name.
The woman told investigators that, on several occasions, men had turned up at her workplace believing they had arranged a “date” with her.
“This is a damning case that demonstrates just how dehumanised my client has been,” her lawyer, Julia Studient, said.
Echoes of the Pelicot trial
The Pelicot case shook France and sparked a national reckoning over sexual violence, consent, chemical submission and the abuse of women within relationships.
Pelicot was convicted after admitting he had drugged his then-wife, Gisèle, over the course of nearly a decade and invited men he met online to rape her while she was unconscious.
The case drew global attention, largely because Gisèle Pelicot waived her right to anonymity and insisted that the shame of sexual violence "must change sides" – from victims to perpetrators.
Investigators in the Lyon case believe the defendant sought advice from Pelicot as he allegedly planned to drug and abuse his own partner.
The defendant also faces accusations of possessing and distributing numerous child sexual abuse images.
A verdict is expected late on Friday afternoon. If convicted, the defendant faces up to 20 years in prison.
(with newswires)
