Man accused of letting strangers rape his wife not avoiding trial, lawyer says, as he claims sickness again
A Frenchman who is on trial for drugging his wife and letting multiple strangers rape her is not avoiding his trial, his lawyer has said after he said he was too ill to give evidence.
Dominique Pélicot did not take the stand on Wednesday after being found vomiting and fainting in his prison cell.
The 71-year-old, who has admitted the charges against him, was due to be cross-examined at the Vaucluse Criminal Court in Avignon, where he is one of 51 defendants.
But, before proceedings were due to get underway, he appeared too ill to carry on, and was rushed out of the building.
His defence lawyer, Beatrice Zavarro, called for a full medical examination, saying: “I met Mr Pélicot lying down in prison.
“He had vomited, had fainting spells, and had pain in his kidneys. Physically, he is here, but probably not in a fit state to take part in the proceedings in a calm manner.”
Pélicot is facing a jail sentence of up to 20 years, along with 50 other defendants, accused of the aggravated rape of Gisèle Pélicot, also 71, over almost a decade. But he has not appeared at his trial for the past two days because of ill health.
He briefly turned up on Wednesday, with his left hand supporting his head as he slumped against the side of a gallery, looking around the court with a vacant expression.
Within minutes, Judge Roger Arata called for Pélicot to leave, confirming that he had been suffering with pain in his intestines first reported on Monday.
Heads shook in disbelief around the court, as Ms Zavarro insisted his absence was not a “ploy”.
She said: “Let’s be clear about this. Mr Pélicot will not be avoiding his own trial. He will be here. He will reply to all the questions, but he can’t control what happens to his body. He didn’t plan to be ill. He is not a robot.”
It is technically possible to avoid a trial in France because of extreme ill health.
Abdominal pain is frequently the result of problems in the small and large intestine, and counsel for Pélicot said it has been affecting him for a number of days.
The judge said other witnesses would be heard until Pélicot was fit enough to be cross-examined, possibly on Thursday.
On Monday, psychologists descrived Pélicot as a “Jekyll and Hyde” character who drugged his wife so strangers could rape her at night.
He told detectives that he considered himself a “good husband: to Ms Pélicot, whom he married in 1971 and had three children with.
The couple’s divorce was finalised last month, and Ms Pélicot is now one of the main prosecution witnesses against him.
She has sat in court throughout the last seven days of the trial, along with her children.
On Friday, Pélicot’s own daughter described him as “one of the greatest sexual predators” of recent years.
