「私はレイプ犯」　妻を７２人に性的暴行させた男、許し請う

【アビニョンＡＦＰ＝時事】鎮静剤で当時の妻の意識を失わせ、インターネットで募った男７２人にレイプさせたとして起訴されたフランス人ドミニク・ペリコ被告（７１）の公判で１７日、同被告が初めて証言し、「私はレイプ犯だ」と認めるとともに、元妻に許しを請うた。（写真は、南仏アビニョンで、公判に臨むドミニク・ペリコ被告〈中央〉を描いた法廷画）
　ペリコ被告は２０１１年から２０２０年の約１０年にわたり、先月、離婚が成立したジゼルさん（７１）の意識を鎮静剤で失わせ、インターネットで募った男らにレイプさせたり、自らレイプしたりした罪に問われている。
　当局はドミニク被告の他に７２人の男の関与を確認し、うち計５０人の身元を特定。全員が起訴されている。５０人の年齢は２６～７４歳。
　ペリコ被告はすでに起訴内容を認めているが、証言するのは今月２日の公判開始後初めて。
　つえを突きながらゆっくり南仏アビニョンの法廷に入ってきた同被告は、他の５０人と自分は何ら変わりがないと話し、全員がインターネットでの勧誘の趣旨を理解した上で参加したと証言。
　「私はレイプ犯だ。ここにいる他の被告と同じだ」「彼女には、こんな目に遭ういわれはなかった」と続けた。
　自身の生い立ちについて、「つらい」子ども時代だったと語り、両親は「互いに攻撃し合っていた」と振り返った。
　さらに、９歳の時にレイプされ、見習いとして働いていた建設現場でもレイプされたことがあると証言。声を震わせ涙ながらに「トラウマになる出来事をずっと抱えていた」「生まれつきこうなのではない。こうなってしまうのだ」と訴えた。
　ジゼルさんは、ペリコ被告が証言する間、感情を表に出すことはなかった。その後、自らも証言台に立った。ジゼルさんは、薬物を使用した性暴力に対する認識を高めるために公開裁判を求めて以来、フェミニストのアイコンとなっている。
　「私は、この男を一瞬でも疑ったことはなかった」「この男を５０年間愛していた。彼のためなら、自分の両手をささげてもいいとさえ思っていた」とジゼルさんは語った。
　ペリコ被告はジゼルさんに許しを請うた。
　「私は罪を犯した。妻、子どもたち、孫たち…私の謝罪を受け入れてほしい。受け入れ難いだろうが、許してほしい」「私はすべてを台無しにした。その償いをしなければならない」と訴えた。
　ペリコ被告は、別の女性に対しても謝罪した。女性の夫とペリコ被告は、同様の手口でこの女性をレイプしたとして告訴されている。【翻訳編集ＡＦＰＢＢＮｅｗｓ】
〔ＡＦＰ＝時事〕（2024/09/18-17:08）

I am a rapist, said a Frenchman accused of drugging his wife for years so that he and dozens of strangers could sexually assault her, his first testimony in a trial that has horrified France.
Dominique Pelicot, 71, begged her forgiveness.
But he said he was no different from 50 other men he recruited online to take part in the sexual abuse, adding they all knew what they were signing up for.
I am a rapist, like the others in this room, he said, referring to his co-defendants.
She did not deserve this, he added.
Earlier on Tuesday, Pelicot used a walking stick to slowly enter the courtroom in the southern city of Avignon, where his now ex-wife Gisele was present for the testimony.
With her auburn bob and sunglasses, 71-year-old Gisele has become a feminist icon since she demanded that the trial be made open to the public to raise awareness about the use of drugs to commit sexual abuse.
Pelicot is accused of administering anti-anxiety drugs to his wife over a period of almost a decade, from 2011 to 2020, so that he and others could rape her while she was unconscious, mostly at their home in the small southern town of Mazan.
He has admitted the charges but Tuesday was the first time he spoke at any length since the trial began on September 2.
He recounted having a difficult childhood, saying his parents assaulted each other.
He briefly mentioned the traumatic experiences of being raped when he was nine years old and again on a construction site where he was an apprentice.
I always carried these traumatising events with me, he said, his eyes welling up and his voice shaking.
You're not born this way. You become it.
- 'I must pay for it' -
His ex-wife, who obtained a divorce from him last month, remained stoic as he spoke, then took the stand herself.
Not for a single second did I doubt this man, she said.
I loved this man for 50 years. I would have sacrificed my own two hands for him.
Her former husband asked her for forgiveness.
I am guilty of what I have done. I beg my wife, my children, my grandchildren... to accept my apologies. I ask for forgiveness, even though it is unacceptable, he said.
I messed it all up... I must pay for it.
He also presented his apologies to another woman, whose husband and he are accused of raping her using the same modus operandi.
This is a confessional trial, said Pelicot's lawyer Beatrice Zavarro. It will continue like this, you can be sure of it. At the end of this trial we will know everything about Dominique Pelicot, she told reporters.
Pelicot said he never touched his two sons and daughter, although investigators found naked pictures of his daughter and intimate photos of his two daughters-in-law on his computer, taken without their knowledge.
He was only found out in 2020 after he was caught filming up women's skirts in a supermarket.
Police discovered he had meticulously documented the abuse of his wife, stored in files on his computer.
There was a certain pleasure to it, he said of the filing, but it was also a sort of guarantee.
He pointed out that it had helped track down suspects, causing several co-defendants to look up or smile nervously.
- Fireman, nurse, journalist -
Investigators listed 72 men suspected of having taken part in abusing Gisele Pelicot other than her husband.
They succeeded in identifying 50, aged from 26 to 74, all of whom are on trial.
Pelicot's testimony is expected to be decisive for all these co-defendants, four of whose cases are set to be heard in the coming days.
Some of the accused have admitted he told them he was drugging his then-wife, while others claim they believed they were participating in a swinger couple's fantasy.
Seventeen are in custody, as is Pelicot himself, while 32 other defendants are attending as free men.
One co-defendant is being tried in absentia.
The suspects include a fireman, a male nurse, a prison guard and a journalist.
The case has prompted outrage across France, with thousands demonstrating in cities at the weekend to demand an end to rape.
Pelicot was excused from hearings for much of last week for health reasons and did not attend court on Monday.
But he returned to the dock on Tuesday after a green light from doctors, with his lawyer saying he would be allowed regular rest.