The harrowing saga of Dominique Pélicot, a Frenchman sentenced to 20 years in prison for drugging and orchestrating the rape of his then-wife, Gisèle Pélicot, has taken another disturbing turn. Pélicot's daughter, Caroline Darian, has publicly shared her suspicions that her father also drugged her and possibly subjected her to sexual abuse.
In an interview with the BBC, Darian described the trauma of being both the daughter of a victim and a perpetrator. She revealed that during the investigation into her father's crimes, police showed her photographs discovered on his computer. The images depicted Darian unconscious, lying in bed wearing only a T-shirt and underwear. Initially unrecognizable to herself, the photos were later identified as her by investigators.
"I lived a dissociation effect. I had difficulties recognizing myself from the start," Darian recounted. She noted the parallels between her posture in the photos and the images of her mother during her abuse. "I was laying on my left side like my mother, in all her pictures," she said.
Despite the lack of concrete evidence, Darian is convinced of her father's culpability. "I know that he drugged me, probably for sexual abuse," she stated. However, she acknowledged the absence of proof and lamented the plight of countless victims who are not believed due to insufficient evidence.
Darian's revelations come just weeks after the conclusion of a trial that shocked France. Dominique Pélicot, along with 49 other men, was convicted of participating in or facilitating the repeated rape of Gisèle over nearly a decade. The crimes were orchestrated through a now-defunct online platform, where Pélicot recruited men to assault his wife while she was unconscious.
The abuse was uncovered in 2020 when Pélicot was arrested for filming up the skirts of female shoppers in a local supermarket. During the investigation, police seized his electronic devices and found hundreds of images and videos documenting the assaults on Gisèle. This discovery led to one of the most egregious sexual abuse cases in modern French history.
Darian shared that her suspicions about her father's actions were solidified after receiving a fateful call from her mother in 2020, where Gisèle disclosed the years of abuse she endured. The revelation marked the end of what Darian described as a semblance of normal life.
Dominique Pélicot, 72, has denied abusing his daughter and offered an alternative explanation for the incriminating photographs. However, Darian dismissed his defense, branding him "a monster" and "one of the worst sexual predators of the last 20 or 30 years." She expressed her hope that he would remain imprisoned for the rest of his life.
In court, Darian confronted her father, reportedly shouting, "I'll never see you again! You'll die alone like a dog!" Her anger and anguish underscore the emotional toll of being linked to such horrific crimes.
Darian's forthcoming book, I'll Never Call Him Dad Again, explores the trauma her family endured and delves into the concept of "chemical submission," the method her father used to drug and abuse her mother. She hopes the book will shine a light on invisible victims and raise awareness about the challenges they face in seeking justice.
Gisèle Pélicot, now in recovery, has begun rebuilding her life. Darian described her mother as "doing well" despite the horrors she endured. However, Darian continues to grapple with the burden of her family's dark history. "When I look back, I don't really remember the father that I thought he was. I look straight to the criminal, the sexual criminal he is," she said.
