Avignon trial

Main defendant offered woman for gardening work

Victim Gisele Pelicot is following the trial in Avignon and has called for her ordeal to be heard in public.(Bild: APA/AFP )

The spectacular rape case currently being heard in Avignon, France, has been enriched by a gruesome facet. A witness reported that the main defendant, Dominique Pelicot (72), also offered him sex with his drugged wife - who was supposed to do gardening work in return.

The extent of the case, which made headlines far beyond the borders of France, shook even the most hardened minds. Another gruesome detail has now been revealed in court: A 42-year-old witness has now reported that Pelicot offered him his wife Gisele if the latter would do gardening work in return. 

This is how the court sketch artist captured the main defendant Dominique Pelicot.(Bild: APA/AFP)

"He asked me to do gardening work and in return he offered me his wife," the witness described the conversation with the main suspect. "I offered him a Saturday morning, he said no because he was giving her a pill to get her to sleep." The witness then told Pelicot "that's rape and I don't agree," the 42-year-old told the court. 

Pelicot told witnesses that he did this act "very often"
The main defendant obviously could not understand this reaction. "He added that he drugs his wife and offers her to men very often," the witness said. 

50 other men charged
The main defendant Pelicot had previously confessed in court to drugging his wife from 2011 to 2020 and offering her to other men for rape. 50 other suspects are also on trial for the abuse, all of whom face up to 20 years in prison.