As one of the most horrific trials France has ever seen comes to a close, the world is left asking: how could this happen? Warning: this article contains descriptions of alleged rape and sexual assault.
Dominique Pelicot called himself a family man. He liked cycling in the French countryside on a Sunday, he took his son and grandson to football matches, and he was good at celebrating birthdays. Everyone adored him at those parties β my friends saw him as a role model.
Dominique, a year-old retired electrician and estate agent, is now described by his family as the worst sexual predator in recent French history. She was away that weekend, taking care of her grandchildren in Paris. It was a hot day and lots of women at the supermarket were wearing summer dresses and sandals. Dominique, dressed in a polo shirt and shorts, carried a black bag with a hidden camera in it.
He loitered closely behind four women, holding the bag low to the ground and pointing it up their skirts. The outraged supermarket security guard who spotted Dominique filming immediately called the police and urged the women to file complaints.
But she and the other women did report the offence. The small team of police in Carpentras station were overworked that day on a pile-up of cases, including domestic violence and assault incidents. Then they searched his home. Dominique had messaged men on the unmoderated chat site Coco, which has since been shut down , offering them his wife while drugged. Dominique would tell the men to help themselves. Some men did thumbs up or victory signs to the camera.
