Gisèle Pelicot wanted us to know her name. These are the names of the men convicted in her rape
WARNING: This article contains explicit details of sexual assaults and may affect those who have experienced sexual violence or know someone affected by it.
And now that all 51 men charged in connection with the drugging, rape and sexual assault of Gisèle have been found guilty by a French court, we can know theirs.
One of those men was Pelicot’s now ex-husband, Dominique Pelicot, who was sentenced to the maximum of 20 years for drugging and raping his wife over nearly a decade and inviting other men to their home to participate.
The 50 other men were often dubbed “Monsieur Tout-le-monde,” or “Mr. Every Man” by the French media.
“They just seem like your next-door neighbour. They could be your next-door neighbour. And in the end, that’s what really shocked a lot of French people is that they were their next-door neighbours,” New York Times journalist Catherine Porter said in The Daily podcast earlier this week.
Ranging in age from 27 to 74, most of them had standard jobs like truck driver, carpenter, prison guard, nurse, IT expert, a local journalist, a gardener, DJ and former firefighter.
“I believe it’s raised awareness among many people who may have previously thought such acts of sexual cruelty were rare and committed only by so-called ‘monsters,’ ” Ummni Khan, an associate professor in the department of law and legal studies at Carleton University in Ottawa, told CBC News.
Most lived within a 50-kilometre radius of the Pelicots’ picturesque village of Mazan, which is nestled in vineyards below Mont Ventoux in southeastern France.
Multiple men had wives, children or both. Some were grandfathers. Despite video evidence, most denied the charges against them.
The court found 46 guilty of rape, two guilty of attempted rape and two guilty of sexual assault. Under French law, their full identities could not previously be reported, according to the BBC. As the New York Times points out, the court had also prohibited taking photos of any of the victims or accused without their written consent (Gisèle and her children had given consent).
Dominique Pelicot: Guilty of aggravated rape on his ex-wife, Gisèle. He is 72, and married Gisèle in 1973. The couple, now divorced, had three children and Gisele said she had thought they had a happy marriage, according to Reuters. Professionally, Pelicot appeared to have struggled, working as an electrician and then in real estate, but had to ask family members for loans. Addressing the court in September, he said he’d had a difficult upbringing and had himself been a victim of rape. He said he had wanted his wife to participate in partner swaps and her refusal, together with trauma from his youth, had contributed to triggering his abusive behaviour, noted Reuters. He was sentenced to 20 years in prison on Thursday.
Jean-Pierre Marechal: Guilty of attempted rape and aggravated rape of his own wife, as well as drugging her. He was the only defendant not accused of raping or abusing Gisèle Pelicot, said Reuters. Instead, encouraged by Dominique Pelicot, he drugged his own wife and let Pelicot come to his home on several occasions to rape her. He worked at a garden centre and had no criminal record prior to his arrest. Some of his six children testified on his behalf. He was sentenced to 12 years. He is 63.
Charly Arbo: Guilty of aggravated rape. The 30-year-old went to the Pelicot house six times between 2018 and 2020. On the first occasion, he was 22 and Gisèle was 64. According to Le Monde, Dominique Pelicot repeatedly urged Arbo to rape his mother, to no avail. He was sentenced to 13 years.
Cyrille Delville: Guilty of aggravated rape, according to the BBC. He was sentenced to eight years. According to the Guardian, Delville, a father of two, is 54 and trained as a butcher. The news outlet also said he admitted to the rape in court, apologized, and that while he was in prison on remand said he had understood that “women do not belong to men.”
Jerome Vilela: Guilty of aggravated rape. The 46-year-old visited the Pelicot home six times in little more than three months in 2020, said Reuters. He told investigators he’d had a difficult childhood, with unloving parents and bullying at school. He was once a volunteer firefighter but struggled with a sex addiction and had a history of infidelity and breakups. The father of three children, he admitted the rape charges and said he knew Gisèle had been drugged, Reuters said. He was sentenced to 13 years in jail.
Dominique Davies: Guilty of aggravated rape. Davies, 45, a truck driver and ex-soldier, raped Gisèle during six visits to the Pelicot home, beginning in 2015, according to Reuters. Davies, who grew up in a foster home, told police he started visiting the now-closed coco.fr website, where he linked up with Dominique Pelicot because of his wife’s lack of sexual desire. The fact that Gisèle was “completely submissive and reduced to a sexual object contributed to his excitement,” according to the police report. He said he left his clothes outside the patio door of the Pelicots’ house so that he could flee quickly if Gisèle woke up, Reuters added. In court, he acknowledged “the material facts” as evidenced by the video footage, but said he “had no intention of committing a criminal act.” He was sentenced to 13 years in prison.
Romain Vandevelde: Guilty of aggravated rape, according to the BBC. Vandevelde, 63, had a painful childhood, according to court documents. The fourth of nine children, his home was extremely violent and he was raped as a child. He got married, joined the army and later divorced. He went to the Pelicot home six times in 2019 and 2020, telling the court he had been lonely. He acknowledged knowing he was HIV positive when he raped Gisèle without wearing a condom. He said he was being treated for the disease and could not transmit the virus. He denied the rape charges and was sentenced to 15 years in prison.
Joseph Cocco: Guilty of aggravated sexual assault. Cocco, 69, was sentenced to three years in jail, two of them suspended, the Guardian reported. According to the New York Times, he’s a swinger who showed up to the Pelicot home for what he thought was a threesome. After “stroking her backside,” Cocco told the court he left when he heard Gisèle snoring.
Christian Lescole: Guilty of aggravated rape and sentenced to nine years, according to the BBC. The publication added that he’s a volunteer firefighter with two daughters. He’s 57, said the Guardian.
Lionel Rodriguez: Guilty of attempted rape, with aggravating factors and sentenced to eight years, according to the Independent. Rodriguez, 44, worked in the same supermarket where Dominique Pelicot was caught filming up women’s skirts, which led to the police investigation against him.
Nicolas Francois: Guilty of aggravated rape and having child abuse imagery, according to the BBC. He was sentenced to eight years, said Le Monde. According to Sky News, he is 42 and a freelance journalist.
Jacques Cubeau: Guilty of aggravated rape and sentenced to five years, according to the BBC. He’s 73 and retired, said AFP. According to the Independent, he told the court he believed he was taking part in a consensual fantasy.
Patrice Nicolle: Guilty of aggravated rape and sentenced to eight years, according to Sky News. The BBC noted that the 55-year-old electrician is a father of two.
Joan Kawai: Guilty of aggravated rape and sentenced to 10 years, according to the Independent. The 27-year-old soldier missed the birth of his daughter the night he was in the Pelicot home.
Thierry Parisis: Guilty of aggravated rape and sentenced to eight years, according to the BBC. He’s 54 and denied the charges, saying he thought it was a “game,” reports Le Monde.
Philippe Leleu: Guilty of aggravated rape and sentenced to five years, two of which are suspended, according to the Independent. The 62-year-old professional gardener visit the Pelicot home in 2018 but couldn’t get an erection, so he penetrated Gisèle with his fingers, Le Monde said. According to the Independent, while on trial he told the court, “I didn’t know that a finger was rape.”
Simoné Mekenese: Guilty of aggravated rape and sentenced to nine years, according to the BBC. He was also the Pelicots’ neighbour. He’s 43 and a father to six kids.
Nizar Hamida: Guilty of aggravated rape and sentenced to 10 years, per the Independent. The 41-year-old has eight previous convictions, including domestic violence, noted Le Monde.
Boris Moulin: Guilty of aggravated rape and sentenced to eight years, the BBC reported. According to the Guardian, the 37-year-old worked at a transport company in Avignon, and told the court he thought Gisèle Pelicot was drunk.
Thierry Postat: Guilty of aggravated mass rape and the possession of child abuse images, and sentenced to 12 years, according to the Guardian and the BBC. He’s 61, divorced and a refrigeration specialist.
Didier Sambuchi: Guilty of aggravated rape and sentenced to five years, according to the BBC. The 67-year-old retired lorry driver told the court he went to the Pelicot house “exclusively for a homosexual relationship,” according to Le Monde.
Quentin Hennebert: Guilty of aggravated rape and sentenced to seven years, said the Independent. He’s 34 and a former prison warden.
Jean-Luc La: Guilty of aggravated rape and sentenced to 10 years, per the BBC. The Guardian said the 46-year-old father of four admitted to raping Gisèle on two occasions, knowing she had been drugged unconscious.
Abdelali Dallal: Guilty of aggravated rape and sentenced to eight years, said the Guardian. The BBC pointed out that the 47-year-old is free today due to medical issues and will need to be placed in a special jail.
Fabien Sotton: Guilty of aggravated rape and sentenced to 11 years, per the BBC. He’s 39 and has 16 previous convictions, said the Independent. According to the Guardian, he admitted the charge, but said he didn’t go to the Pelicot residence intending to rape Gisèle. He told the court he had no interest in an unconscious woman because he liked to hear them scream.
Karim Sebaoui: Guilty of aggravated rape, having child abuse imagery, he was sentenced to 10 years, per the Independent. He’s a 40-year-old IT technician.
Mathieu Dartus: Guilty of aggravated rape and sentenced to seven years, according to the BBC. The Guardian said he’s 53, a father of two, and a former baker. He admitted the facts and said he was high on MDMA at the time.
Jean-Marc LeLoup: Guilty of aggravated rape and sentenced to six years, said the Independent. At 74, he was the oldest man on trial.
Andy Rodriguez: Guilty of attempted rape and aggravating factors, the 37-year-old was sentenced to six years, according to the BBC. He told the court he came into online contact with Dominique Pelicot on New Year’s Eve because he had “nothing else to do” after his brothers didn’t invite him to a party, said the Guardian.
Vincent Coullet: Guilty of aggravated rape and sentenced to 10 years, reported the Independent. The website noted that Coullet told the court he claimed his participation “was for the couple, to satisfy them.”
Adrien Longeron: Guilty of aggravated rape and child abuse imagery, and sentenced to six years, according to the BBC. He’s already serving a 14-year prison sentence for rape, violence and harassment of three other women, noted the Independent. In court, the 34-year-old said, “As long as the husband was present, there was no rape.”
Mohamed Rafaa: Guilty of aggravated rape and sentenced to eight years, per the Guardian. Rafaa, 70, had already served time for raping his teen daughter. He raped Gisèle at the Pelicots’ daughter’s holiday cottage.
Hugues Malago: Guilty of attempted rape and two aggravating factors, and sentenced to five years, according to the BBC. He’s 39 and a biker. According to Le Monde, there was no video of penetration, so Malago was on trial for attempted rape, which he denied.
Ahmed Tbarik: Guilty of aggravated rape and sentenced to eight years, per the BBC. He’s 54 and a former champion boxer, said the Guardian. He told the court, “I’m not a rapist, but if I had wanted to rape I wouldn’t have chosen a 57-year-old woman, I would have chosen a pretty one.”
Redouane Azougagh: Guilty of aggravated rape and sentenced to nine years, per the Independent. He’s 40, unemployed, and� has prior convictions for domestic violence.
Hassan Ouamou: Guilty of aggravated rape and sentenced to 12 years, said the BBC. He’s 30 and on the run in Morocco. He was tried in absentia.
Redouane El Farihi: Guilty of aggravated rape and sentenced to eight years, according to the Guardian. He worked as a community nurse in Avignon. The 55-year-old said he was the “victim of a trick.”
Omar Douiri: Guilty of aggravated rape and sentenced to eight years, according to the BBC. He’s 36 and visited the Pelicot house in 2018, according to Le Monde. He denied committing rape, telling the court Dominique said Gisèle would pretend to be asleep.
Cyril Beaubis: Guilty of aggravated rape and sentenced to nine years, according to the BBC. He’s 47, a lorry driver, and described himself as a daily cannabis user, said the Guardian. He denied the rape and said he was manipulated.
Cyprien Culieras: Guilty of aggravated rape and sentenced to six years, according to the Independent, which also noted the forklift driver said he visited the Pelicot home to regain self-confidence after intestinal surgery.
Mahdi Daoudi: Guilty of mass rape and drugging, according to the BBC, and sentenced to eight years. The 36-year-old transport worker claimed he left the Pelicot home when he realized Gisèle was asleep, said the Independent. Video footage showed him performing “repeated penetrations,” according to Le Monde.
Cendric Venzin: Guilty of aggravated rape and sentenced to nine years, said the Guardian. He’s 44 and was unemployed at the time. He had initially denied the rape but eventually apologized in court.
Cedric Grassot: Guilty of aggravated rape and sentenced to 12 years, per the BBC. According to Sky News, he’s a 50-year-old IT technician.
Patrick Aron: Guilty of aggravated rape and sentenced to six years, said the BBC. The 60-year-old said he took part in the rape reluctantly because he was gay and wanted to have sex with Dominique, not Gisèle according to the Guardian.
Jean Tirano: Guilty of aggravated rape and sentenced to eight years, said the BBC. He’s 52, and according to the Guardian, told the court he thought Dominique drugged him.
Husamettin Dogan: Guilty of aggravated rape and sentenced to nine years, according to the BBC. The 43-year-old told the court that it appeared Gisèle was “dead” when he arrived, according to Le Monde, but he said he also thought it was a scenario where she was pretending.
If you’re in immediate danger or fear for your safety or that of others around you, please call 911.
Published at Thu, 19 Dec 2024 10:18:17 +0000
U.S. House passes bill to avoid government shutdown, sends it to Senate for approval
The Republican-controlled U.S. House of Representatives passed legislation on Friday that would avert a midnight government shutdown, defying president-elect Donald Trump’s demand to also greenlight trillions of dollars in new debt.
Next, the Democratic-controlled Senate must pass the bill to ensure the U.S. government will be funded beyond midnight, when current funding expires. If approved by the Senate, President Joe Biden intends to sign it into law, the White House said.
The legislation would extend government funding until March 14, provide $100 billion US for disaster-hit states and $10 billion US for farmers. However, it would not raise the debt ceiling — a difficult task that Trump has pushed Congress to do before he takes office on Jan. 20.
House Speaker Mike Johnson said Republicans would have more power to influence government spending next year, when they will have majorities in both chambers of Congress and Trump will be in the White House.
“This was a necessary step to bridge the gap, to put us into that moment where we can put our fingerprints on the final decisions on spending,” he told reporters after the vote. He said Trump supported the package.
A government shutdown would disrupt everything from law enforcement to national parks and suspend paycheques for millions of federal workers. A travel industry trade group warned that a shutdown could cost airlines, hotels and other companies $1 billion US per week and lead to widespread disruptions during the busy Christmas season. Authorities warned that travellers could face long lines at airports.
The package, which passed by a bipartisan vote of 366-34, resembled a bipartisan plan that was abandoned earlier this week after an online barrage from Trump and his billionaire adviser Elon Musk, who said it contained too many unrelated provisions, such as a pay raise for lawmakers and a crackdown on pharmacy benefit managers.
Republicans struck most of those elements from the bill — including a provision limiting investments in China that Democrats said would have conflicted with Musk’s interests.
“He clearly does not want to answer questions about how much he plans to expand his businesses in China and how many American technologies he plans to sell,” Democratic Rep. Rosa DeLauro said on the House floor.
Musk happy with deal
Trump has tasked Musk, the world’s richest person, with heading a budget-cutting task force but Musk holds no official position in Washington.
Musk wrote on his social media platform X that he was happy with the package. “It went from a bill that weighed pounds to a bill that weighed ounces,” he posted.
House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries said the package still accomplished important goals, such as delivering disaster aid, averting a shutdown and stopping Republicans from enacting a debt-ceiling hike that would make it easier to cut taxes.
“We have successfully advanced the needs of everyday Americans, but there are still things to be worked on and we look forward to that fight in the new year,” he told reporters.
Trump’s demand to increase the debt ceiling was resoundingly rejected by the House — including 38 Republicans — on Thursday.
The federal government spent roughly $6.2 trillion US last year and has more than $36 trillion US in debt, and Congress will need to act to authorize further borrowing by the middle of next year.
Rep. Rich McCormick, one of 34 Republicans who voted against the bill, said it did nothing to change the nation’s fiscal trajectory and would only add to the debt load. “We will be the country of the past if we continue doing what we’re doing,” he said.
The federal government last shut down for 35 days during Trump’s first term over a dispute about border security.
Previous fights over the debt ceiling have spooked financial markets, as a U.S. government default would send credit shocks around the world. The limit has been suspended under an agreement that technically expires on Jan. 1, though lawmakers likely would not have had to tackle the issue before the spring.
Published at Fri, 20 Dec 2024 23:33:48 +0000
