Christian L., 55, firefighter, in a relationship, two children. Charly A., 30, forklift driver, single with no children. Dominique D., 45, truck driver, married with one child. Karim S., 40, computer scientist, single with no children. Joan K., 26, soldier, separated with one child. Joseph C., 55, retired, single with no children. Adrien L., 34, sentenced last year to eighteen years in prison for the rape of his ex-partners, separated with one child… Since last Monday, the Vaucluse criminal court seems to embody the famous “representative sample of the population” so dear to polling institutes.
Around Dominique Pélicot, this 71-year-old man accused of having drugged his wife for about ten years to rape her and have her raped by other men, at their home in Mazan, stand 49 accused, a fiftieth is on the run. All are accused of having abused Gisèle Pélicot while she was unconscious, “close to a coma” even, according to an expert. Some came up to six times, one of them considered reproducing the situation on his mother, another raped his wife using the same method with the main accused. No man turned back when he discovered Gisèle Pélicot’s lethargic state. And among all those approached on the coco.gg forum “without her knowledge”, less than a third refused his offer, estimated the accused during the investigation. None reported the facts.
No typical profile
The accused are between 26 and 74 years old. While most are from Vaucluse, where the victim and her tormentor lived, they come from all social classes. Some were unemployed, others craftsmen, employees, executives or military personnel. Most were in a relationship, sometimes for several decades, three quarters are fathers. One of them was in the middle of an adoption procedure when he was arrested, the partner of another was pregnant.
This case alone illustrates what professionals have known for a long time: there is no typical profile in rape cases. “The research has confirmed what feminists suspected in the 1960s and 1970s, namely that sexual abusers are ordinary people, they come from all backgrounds, have all types of salaries, are of all ages,” explains sociologist Véronique Le Goaziou, a specialist in the issue.
The vast majority of the accused were perfectly integrated. Their relatives were all shocked when they discovered the suspicions that weighed on them. Patrice N., 55, at the head of his small electrical company in which he employed his son, is described as “benevolent” and “heart on his sleeve” by his relatives. Jacques C., 72, was appreciated by all, reports the personality investigator, who specifies that he was “esteemed for his dedication and his humanity”. The ex-partner of Mathieu D., in her fifties, confided to investigators that he had “difficulty taking care of himself because he worries so much [ait] “The family of Quentin H., a 34-year-old prison officer, describes him as a “very human” and “helpful” man.
“A nice guy”
“The image of the rapist who attacks a woman at night, in the street, under the threat of a knife, is reassuring because it is easier to think that than to tell yourself that in reality, rapists are often men who are apparently decent in every way, men we know, who we hang out with,” continues Véronique Le Goaziou. The main victim, Gisèle Pélicot, herself described her husband to investigators as “a great guy”, “a great guy”, a few minutes before they revealed the abuse he subjected her to for ten years.
The expert reports did not reveal “any pathology” in this man but a sexual deviance and a “perverse” personality. “Rapists are not crazy,” assures Véronique Le Goaziou. “It is very rare that they are diagnosed with a mental illness. They are generally people who are very well integrated into society.”
Clean record
When Dominique Pélicot was arrested in November 2020, his criminal record was clean, like that of thirty of the accused. Of the twenty or so men who had already had dealings with the justice system, only two had already been convicted of crimes, each time rape. However, investigations revealed that five of the suspects were in possession of child sex images.
In the computer of Nicolas F., a journalist, investigators exhumed 4,500 images and videos. Already detained in this case, firefighter Christian L. insisted to his partner that she retrieve her computer from the fire station, otherwise it “would stay there for a long time”, he told her. Inside, investigators discovered more than 700 child pornography images and an exchange with the father of a 15-year-old girl, in which he said he was interested in the idea of raping her when she was rendered unconscious by sleeping pills.
The case of the main suspect is even more dizzying: by searching the life of Dominique Pélicot, investigators made the connection with two cold cases: an attempted rape committed in 1991 and the rape followed by the murder of Sophie Narme, in 1999 in Paris. His DNA was found at the first crime scene and the similarities between the two cases pushed investigators to make the connection. They are continuing their investigations into his criminal history.