Gisèle Pelicot’s son has opened up about the moment he discovered his father was a “monster”.
David Pelicot’s father Dominique was among the 51 men found guilty last year of raping or sexually assaulting his mother, after he had drugged her and invited them to join him in the horrific sexual abuse of his now-ex-wife.
David, the couple’s eldest son, said he will never forgive his father, and that he is still haunted by the question of why he committed such heinous crimes against his mother.
Meanwhile, he described his mother as a “heroine” who endured “unspeakable pain” but “gave immense hope to all women who suffer sexual violence”.
He has now recounted the life-changing moment when his family was destroyed as his mother disclosed to him what had happened to her at the hands of his father.
David told Sky News on Monday: “It’s a moment that will remain etched in my memory forever … He was my father, but he’s not anymore – today he’s a monster.”
The 50-year-old also said he believes his sister Caroline Darian claims that she was abused by their father too as he promised to help her in her battle for justice.
It comes after Ms Darian hit out at Ms Pelicot, claiming their mother “did not want to believe or hear” that her daughter was potentially abused.
When asked about the allegations, Ms Pelicot’s lawyer Stéphane Babonneau previously told The Independent: “Caroline has the feeling that she may have been the victim of more, but without evidence she remains with doubt.”
He added that the Pelicot family had been “torn apart” by sexual violence, which he described as “absolutely common”.
David said it was his wife who picked up his mother’s call the evening when he found out about his father’s crimes. He described her face turning pale before she handed him the phone. Then he heard his mother’s voice, gently asking him to find somewhere quiet where he could be alone. This was when she broke the unfathomable news that she had been repeatedly raped by his father as well as dozens of other men.
David told the broadcaster: “What she told me was like a tsunami. I felt so many emotions rising within me…
“And then the nausea, which had been mounting during the entire conversation reached a peak. I hung up the phone and it felt like the floor gave way under my feet, and I felt sick. I went to the bathroom and threw up.”
Before this point, David described loving and trusting his father, who he now refers to by his full name.
He said: “The moment we were told that she had been abused by more than 50 men was very difficult to hear, because this man, Dominique Pelicot, was the backbone of the family. He’d taught me to respect women, so when I heard what he’d done to our own mother, as the eldest son, I was filled with anger and total incomprehension.”
In attempting to make sense of how Pelicot had managed to trick the family so hideously and so completely, David suggested his father is a Jekyll and Hyde type of character.
David said he had cut Pelicot off when he found out about his crimes, but he received a letter from his father before the start of the trial.
He said: “The first thing I asked myself was why is he writing to me? Is he writing to apologise? To ask for forgiveness? Or to try to manipulate me? So, I read his letter carefully, but quite honestly, I tore it up and threw it in the bin. Personally, I will never forgive him.”
David said the only thing he still wants to ask his father is ‘why?’, although he does not believe Pelicot will ever tell the full truth about his crimes.
He said: “I have no doubt he’ll die in prison, but I’m convinced that he’ll take many of his secrets to the grave.”
When it comes to his mother, David reflected on his thoughts on her becoming a global icon after she waived her anonymity in the trial in Avignon, France, and declared: “Shame must change sides.”
He said: “First and foremost, she’s our mum. She’s also our children’s grandmother, but today, and for the rest of her life, she’ll be a heroine.”
David said his mother and the rest of the family are now trying to slowly rebuild themselves.
He said: “We must continue to live, give meaning to our lives and not forget that in the world, there are other women who cannot speak and who absolutely must be helped … Not only bad came from this case. There was also a lot of positivity – today people are free to speak out.”
