The first of 50 men charged with raping a woman after she had been drugged by her husband told the court that he thought she was ‘in the game’ despite being told to leave the room when she stirred.
Lionel Rodriguez, 43, took the stand charged with raping Gisele Pelicot while she was in a state of semi consciousness.
Mrs Pelicot’s husband Dominique, 73, has been dubbed ‘the Monster of Avignon’ after he admitted drugging his wife and allowing 82 strangers to rape her in their martial bed.
Pelicot had met the men, including Rodriguez, online and shared his vile sexual fantasies online before inviting them to his family home to rape his wife of more than 40 years.
Police were able to look at the footage of the attacks recorded by Pelicot and kept on his computer and identify 50 suspects. A further 32 strangers who raped Mrs Pelicot remain unidentified.
Gisele Pelicot, 72, arrives at court in Avignon, France, this morning
Lionel Rodriguez, 43, took the stand charged with raping Gisele Pelicot (pictured this morning with her lawyer outside court)
This courtroom sketch by Valentin Pasquier shows Gisèle Pelicot, left, and her ex-husband Dominique Pelicot, right, during his trial, at the Avignon court house, in Avignon on Tuesday
The first defendant Rodriguez told the court: ‘It was my biggest mistake from the start not to have asked to speak to Gisele but it seemed impossible to me that she was not in the game.
‘Pelicot sent me pictures of Gisele naked in the garden, but she was awake, and it made me think she was in agreement.’
Rodriguez said his wife had left him after news of his involvement in the case broke and he then turned to Mrs Pelicot, 71, to apologise to her for his actions.
Dressed in a black bomber jacket and dark jeans Rodriguez said: ‘I never wanted to hurt you but I did, I want to ask for forgiveness.
‘I can imagine your nightmare, it’s horrible to think I am part of this nightmare. My apologies will not change anything, but I wanted to tell you.’
Mrs Pelicot, who has waived her right to anonymity, simply started at him and remained emotionless as she sat just feet away from him.
Rodriguez met Pelicot through a now closed forum called Coco.fr and the two men exchanged messages over a period of time in 2018.
Dominique Pélicot is accused of recruiting men online to assault his wife repeatedly over 10yrs
Gisele Pelicot pictured in a sketch with her daughter and lawyer in court yesterday
Eventually Pelicot suggested he come to his home in Mazan near Avignon in southern France so he could sleep with Gisele.
Rodriguez said: ‘He talked about pills, but it wasn’t clear if he was giving them to her or she was taking them.’
Pelicot is accused of drugging his wife over a ten-year period and allowing the 50 men charged to rape her while he filmed the abuse.
But lawyers for the Rodriguez and the others are claiming the men were under the impression Mrs Pelicot was complicit, a willing participant and they were duped.
Rodriguez told the court that when he arrived Mrs Pelicot was naked on a bed and appeared to be asleep.
He went: ‘Pelicot told me to lie down next to her and I caressed her, I penetrated her but during the act I slipped and he made me leave the room.’
Pelicot spoke in court earlier his week and admitted he ‘was a rapist’ and has insisted his wife was not part of the plan.
Police first arrested him in September 2020 for secretly filming up women’s’ skirts in a supermarket in nearby Carpentras.
His devices were searched and hundreds of pornographic videos and pictures were found.
It was while in custody that Pelicot reported to them there was a hard drive called ‘Abuse’ and on it there were 3,800 photos and videos of his wife being raped between 2011 and 2020.
Abuse took place in the town of Mazan, south of France, and was only uncovered after the man was caught up-skirting women in a local supermarket, prompting officers to search his home
Detectives have listed a total of 92 rapes committed by 72 men of whom 51 have been identified aged between 26 and 73 years old.
Eighteen are in custody and are in court in a reinforced cage while the others – including Rodriguez – are on bail and enter and leave the building wearing masks and hoodies to avoid being recognised.
Pelicot is said to have sedated his wife by putting Temesta into her evening meal and alleged attackers include civil servants, a journalist, prison guards, a retired firefighter, a councillor and truck drivers.
Mr Pélicot depicted appearing at the courthouse in Avignon on September 11
In a separate case, Pelicot has been charged with raping and murder of a 23-year-old estate agent in Paris in 1991.
The former electrician – who is sitting in a wheelchair surrounded by prison guards for the hearing in Avignon which started earlier this month – has also admitted one rape in 1999, after DNA testing linked him to the attack.
The case is expected to last until December and fourteen of the defendants have admitted rape whilst the rest deny any wrong doing.