AP Photo/Lewis Joly
Gisele Pelicot was applauded outside court after her ex-husband admitted to drugging her and inviting dozens of men to rape her over nearly a decade in a case that has sent shockwaves through France.
Seventy-one-year-old Dominique Pelicot pleaded with her, and their three children, for forgiveness as he gave evidence in the courtroom in Avignon.
“Today I maintain that, along with the other men here, I am a rapist,″ Dominique Pelicot told the court.
“They knew everything. They can’t say otherwise.”
Pelicot’s testimony is the most important moment so far in a trial that has shocked and gripped the country and raised new awareness about sexual violence.
While he previously confessed to investigators, the evidence he gives in court will be crucial for the panel of judges to decide on the fate of some 50 other men standing trial alongside him.
Many deny having raped Gisele Pelicot, saying they were manipulated by her then-husband or claiming they believed she was consenting.
Ms Pelicot has become a symbol of the fight against sexual violence in France for agreeing to waive her anonymity in the case, letting the trial be public, and appearing openly in front of the media. She is expected to speak in court after her ex-husband’s testimony on Tuesday.
Crowds applauded her outside the courtroom, handing her flowers in a show of solidarity.
