Dominique Pélicot was arrested in 2020 while filming up the skirts of customers at a hypermarket in Carpentras (Vaucluse). An arrest that will allow us to discover the whole story of the rapes suffered by his wife Gisèle. Paris-Match reveals the images.
Without the reaction of this security guard, the Mazan rape case would probably never have been discovered. It is September 12, 2020 at the Leclerc hypermarket in Carpentras in Vaucluse. A security guard observes the behavior of a customer filming with his phone under the customers' skirts. He steps in and goes to meet this client of sixty years.
“He takes good pictures with your phone,” he tells Dominique Pélicot, who had hidden his phone in his bag. Then the security guard addresses a customer: “film under your dress.” Then he explains: “We follow him on camera, four times.” At the same time, the security guard encourages the customer to file a complaint: “Ma'am, I rely on you to file a complaint.” And he added: “Go police, direct the police.”
Then the guard turns to Dominique Pélicot: “Stay there.” He continues: “You're a big disgusting person, actually. Yes, you're a big disgusting person. You're in luck. I swear, it's my mother, I'm going to rip your head off.” Dominique Pélicot has no reaction to the video, we hear no sound of his voice. This video, from Dominique Pélicot's phone, was posted online by Paris-Match friday evening
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Here are the exclusive images of the arrest of Dominique Pelicot while filming up the skirts of customers in a supermarket on September 12, 2020 in Carpentras.
Without the intervention of the security, that day, the so-called rape case #Mazan it wouldn't be… pic.twitter.com/nV89DRlQm1
— Paris Match (@ParisMatch) September 13, 2024
The police will discover the horror
Later, the police arrive to arrest this 67-year-old man who is taken into custody. The preliminary investigation led the police to take an interest in Dominique Pélicot's phone and to seize informative material from his home in the town of Mazan, at the foot of Mont Ventoux. The police open a hard drive, click on the “Abuse” folder and discover the horror.
They then come across scenes of the rape of Gisèle Pélicot, inert and a victim of chemical submission, abused by about fifty men. 83 videos in total. The Mazan rape case has just been discovered. Gisèle Pélicot's life has just been saved, but the family is plunged into horror and disgust when they learn of the patriarch's actions.
Dominique Pélicot is on trial for aggravated rape from September 2 before the criminal court of Vaucluse. The trial was suspended due to his health. It will resume on Monday, September 16.
Demonstrations of support for Gisèle Pélicot
Within days, Gisèle Pélicot became the embodiment of victims of sexual violence, the leading figure in the fight against chemical submission from her determined and dignified appearances at the trial of the men accused of raping her. To offer support, a collective of feminist associations and activists is calling for demonstrations in around thirty cities in France on Saturday, September 14, at 2 p.m.
The shy young woman, who dreamed of being a hairdresser but was a stenographer, who sang in the choir and did gymnastics once she retired, officially divorced Dominique Pélicot on August 22. One of Gisèle Pélicot's lawyers assures her: Gisèle is “a personality that will not be forgotten, an extraordinary woman.”