Warning: This article contains discussion of sexual assault and rape which some readers may find distressing.
Caroline Darian, Gisèle Pelicot’s daughter, has detailed the alleged abuse she suffered at the hands of her father, Dominique Pelicot.
After being arrested for filming up women's skirts in a supermarket in 2020, it soon transpired that Pelicot had been drugging his wife, Gisèle, and inviting other men back to their house in Avignon, France, where they would sexually assault her while she was under the influence of sedatives and anti-anxiety medication.
The convicted sex offender filmed these attacks, which had been going on for years, and stored them on a hard drive labeled 'abuse'.
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Pelicot was also found guilty of the attempted aggravated rape of the wife of one of the co-accused, and taking indecent images of his daughter, Caroline Darian, as well as his daughters-in-law.
He is now behind bars after being handed a 20-year prison term last year.
While Pelicot is now serving prison time for his horrific crimes, Darian told the judge at the time that she is the 'forgotten victim in this case'.
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She is accusing her father of drugging and raping her, with officials currently looking into whether there is enough evidence to take it to a trial.
"I know that he drugged me, probably for sexual abuse. But I don't have any evidence," she told the BBC.
Pelicot has denied the claims made by his daughter, while Darian claims her mother 'never believed her'.
Speaking to The Telegraph recently, Darian detailed the alleged abuse she suffered at the hands of Pelicot.
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Police found deleted photographs in a folder called 'My Daughter Naked' on Pelicot’s hard drive, which showed his daughter appearing to be unconscious and wearing underwear that was not her own.
"Every day we were learning something new, and that’s when I started writing about the sequences of events in real time, like a daily diary," Darian told The Telegraph.
Darian came to the realization she was her father's 'second victim' - but she did not have much knowledge of what Pelicot had done to her.
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Over the years, she has suffered from mysterious gynaecological issues such as a vaginal tear, which even led to a period of time in hospital.
"When I came out, I knew that I had to keep writing everything down, otherwise I would never get through it. In those first few days and weeks," she said. "I think it was actually a way for me to stay alive."
She also claims that her mother 'found it impossible to believe that her husband had preyed on his own daughter', with her claiming in her book, I'll Never Call Him Dad Again, that Gisèle assured her: 'Your father is incapable of such a thing'.
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She and Gisèle sadly no longer speak, with Darian explaining to The Telegraph: "My mother let go of my hand in that courtroom. She abandoned me.
"For four years I accompanied my mum everywhere. I supported her without ever judging her. And it wasn’t always easy because she didn’t want to hear what I was telling her about Dominique.
"But in that courtroom, she was supposed to help me. And that I can never forgive her for. Never."
Darian is now a campaigner for those who are victims of sexual abuse, which brings her a degree of comfort given the terrible ordeal she has been through.
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If you've been affected by any of the issues in this article, you can contact The National Sexual Assault Hotline on 800.656.HOPE (4673), available 24/7. Or you can chat online via online.rainn.org
Topics: France, Sexual Abuse, Crime, World News
Callum Jones