The daughter of a woman who was drugged and abused by her ex-husband, and raped by dozens of strangers has shared her anguish at the “crushing double burden” she faces.
Caroline Darian, 45, spoke about being the child of both victim and perpetrator after dad Dominique Pelicot was jailed for 20 years for drugging and raping Gisèle Pelicot while allowing scores of others to do so.
Speaking last night, Caroline said: “I’m really proud of my mum. She has opened the door. She has led the way for other victims of sexual violence. She’s told them they’re not alone any more. That is strength. So to me she’s a hero?
“She did it brilliantly. She walked into this court every single day with hundreds of journalists, being scrutinised by everyone, being humiliated by all these [defence] lawyers. Frankly, you have be strong to do that? She’s an independent and strong woman. And she did it with dignity.”
Gisèle, 72, waived her right to anonymity so journalists at the trial could report in graphic detail the harrowing ordeal she faced. Speaking after the case and after Dominique was locked up, the mum, of Mazan, southeastern France, said: “I want men and women to live together in harmony with mutual respect and understanding.”
Gisèle Pelicot was lauded for her bravery during the trial in France
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Gisèle was embraced by the world as a feminist hero for her bravery and refusal to be shamed, as the trial made global headlines and the family was thrown into the spotlight. During the trial, dozens of accused men, now aged between 26 and 74, including a soldier, journalist and lorry drivers, had sat on benches in court, at close proximity to Caroline and her mother.
Caroline felt the men looked “comfortable in their seats” when video evidence was shown of many of them raping Gisèle in her bedroom when she was in a comatose state, lying limp and lifeless.
Speaking to The Guardian Magazine, Caroline added: “How are you supposed to rebuild yourself from the ruins when you know your father is the worst sexual predator of the past 20 years?… You can’t imagine the sadness and the loneliness. I’ve got a part of his DNA. And it’s difficult to be the daughter of the biggest sexual criminal for the past 10, 20, even 30 years, and at the same time be the daughter of an icon like my mum? I don’t know if it’s better to be the daughter of Gisèle or worse to be the daughter of Dominique Pelicot. I’ll have to live with that.”
Dominique Pelicot was jailed last month for 20 years
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The mum, pictured outside the court in Avignon, experienced blackouts amid the abuse she endured
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AFP via Getty Images)
The trial, which went on for four months, heard the monster hidden cameras in bathrooms and bedrooms at his home and in relatives’ homes, secretly photographing his sons’ wives naked and sharing the pictures and photo montages online. He hid cameras in the guest bedroom in Mazan to secretly film his daughter naked and make photomontages of both her and Gisèle naked.
On his computer equipment, police had found a deleted folder called “my daughter naked” and recovered two pictures of Darian, then aged roughly in her 30s, taken at different times, asleep on her side in the foetal position, wearing beige underwear with the duvet pulled back. When police first showed her those pictures, she initially didn’t recognise herself.
And, in her final appearance in court, Caroline said: “I’m a forgotten victim in this case.” Turning to her father, she said: ” I know you abused me. You don’t have the courage to tell me.” She, her brothers, her lawyer and even Dominique Pelicot’s own lawyer implored him in court to speak honestly about what he had done.
Despite the photos, he said he had never touched his daughter and didn’t know who had taken them. One court psychiatrist suggested that for a victim like Caroline to go through life not knowing was “mental torture”.