CONTENT WARNING: This article discusses rape.
The world is still reeling following the aftermath of a horrific case involving 72-year-old French woman Gisèle Pelicot and her husband, convicted rapist Dominique Pelicot.
Dominique was sentenced to 20 years behind bars after being found guilty of drugging and inviting more than 70 men, aged between 26 to 74, to rape his wife for a decade, the likes of which including those working as a journalist, nurse, prison warden and more.
Now, almost a full month following Dominic’s guilty verdict, the couple’s daughter, Caroline Darian, has spoken out against her father’s actions, stating that “he should die in prison”.
“You can’t imagine how hurt [we] feel. It was a nightmare,” Darian says in a BBC interview.
“I don’t really remember the father that I thought he was. I looked straight [at] the sexual criminal he is.
He was always a sexual pervert. Always. There’s no way you can wake up [one] morning saying, ‘OK I’m going to drug my wife for rape’. He should die in prison. He is a dangerous man. He is dangerous.”
Caroline is also set to release a memoir, I’ll Never Call Him Dad Again, on January 14, which explores and documents the trauma inflicted upon her family by her father.
In an extract posted to The Guardian, Caroline describes the time she first discovered that she herself might have been a victim of her father’s sexually criminal activities by police.
“An officer calls me forward. Florian [her brother] gets up to accompany me, but he’s told he can’t.
A large blue folder lies on the table. Photos printed on sheets of A4 poke out from it. I’m afraid of what I’m about to discover. One of the officers tries to calm me. ‘You can handle this,’ he tells me. I only have to look at two photos. All they want to know is if I’m in either of them.
I look up at the officer and tell him I’m not sure whether or not it’s me.
The officer studies my face for a brief moment. ‘I hope you don’t mind me pointing this out, but don’t you have a brown mole on your right cheek, just like the young woman in the photos?’
I force my eyes back to the images, and finally the veil drops from my eyes. I start to shiver, my vision is disturbed by a host of tiny starbursts, my ears start ringing and I jerk back in the chair. The officer calls in my brother. Florian kneels before me, holds my hands, and tells me to try to breathe along with him.
How did he manage to take my photo in the middle of the night without waking me up? Where did the underwear come from, as I’m sure it’s not mine? Did he drug me? Did he go beyond the photos? Did he – I can’t keep the unthinkable at bay – abuse me?”
I Will Never Call Him Dad Again is set to go on sale on January 14.
Help is available.
- If you require immediate assistance, please call 000.
- If you’d like to speak to someone about sexual violence, please call the 1800 Respect hotline on 1800 737 732 or chat online.
- Under 25? You can reach Kids Helpline at 1800 55 1800 or chat online.
The post Gisèle Pelicot’s Daughter, Caroline Darian, Speaks About Her Father: ‘He Should Die In Prison’ appeared first on PEDESTRIAN.TV .
