FRANCE’S most notorious serial rapist has been summoned for questioning over an unsolved murder of a young woman.
Dominique Pelicot, 72, has been dragged out of his hellhole prison cell and is due to speak to specialist “cold case” magistrates in Paris on Thursday.
Dominique Pélicot, 72, drugged and raped his wife Gisèle for years
HandoutSophie Narme, 23, was raped and murdered in 1991[/caption]
GettyBrave Gisele Pelicot confronted her ex-husband and abusers in court in a trial that rocked the globe[/caption]
Dominique, who was labelled the “Beast of Avignon”, has spent the past month in solitary confinement after being found guilty of the aggravated rape of his ex-wife, Gisele Pelicot.
He drugged brave Gisele for almost a decade and allowed over 50 men he met on the internet to rape and sexually abuse her against her will.
Pelicot is currently locked away in a high security prison close to the southern city of Avignon but has now been ordered to speak to more investigators.
They want to question him over the unsolved rape and murder of an estate agent in Paris in 1991.
He also faces a probe over an attempted rape in 1999 as cops look into his history as a possible serial offender.
An investigating source in Paris told the BFM news channel: “Dominique Pelicot has been summoned for questioning this Thursday, January 30, by the cold case unit of the Nanterre Judicial Court.
“He will therefore be taken from his cell in the detention centre where he is serving a 20-year sentence for the aggravated rapes committed on his ex-wife Gisele Pelicot.”
Pelicot will specifically be questioned at length about the rape and murder of Sophie Narme, a 23-year-old, who died in the early 90s in greater Paris.
He will also be asked about the attempted rape of another estate agent, identified only as Marion, 18, who was attacked in the same area in 1999.
During his time in custody, Dominique’s DNA was matched to the attempted rape in 1999, the New York Times reports.
He admitted to the crime during police interrogation and the presiding judge in his trial for the rape of his wife read aloud the interrogation transcript.
Both attacks happened close to where Pelicot was living with his wife and three children at the time.
In court last month Dominique denied any involvement in the death of Narme.
Neither case has gone to court yet but Laure Chabaud, the prosecutor in the Ms Pelicot case, said that it was clear that Dominique’s “deviant behavior had persisted over several decades.”
His disturbing treatment of his wife has also opened up new lines of enquiry to other cold cases across France.
AFPA court sketch of Dominique Pelicot during his trial[/caption]
Police HandoutPictured: Dominique PelicoT[/caption]
ReutersA banner which reads ‘Thank you Gisèle’ hangs on the city wall in Avignon as the hearing goes ahead today[/caption]
A second investigating source says cops are looking into the possibility that he was linked to “at least four unsolved cases of sexual violence and a murder”.
This means Pelicot could soon be facing further criminal trials should investigators gather enough evidence.
Investigating Judge Nathalie Turquey, one of three magistrates in the cold case unit of the Nanterre Judicial Court, signed the latest summons this week.
Pelicot’s lead defence lawyer, Béatrice Zavarro, said she did not wish to comment on his latest summons.
MASS RAPE HORROR
Appearing to be the model husband and father to the three children he shared with wife Gisèle in a sleepy town in southern France – Dominique hid his disgusting secret for nine years.
He recruited at least 70 men from online chatrooms to rape his wife and filmed the assaults – even including their next-door neighbour.
Storing up a sick 20,000 images and videos on a folder labelled “Abuses”, the warped pervert finally met justice yesterday when he was convicted of aggravated rape.
Fifty co-defendants were convicted alongside Dominique and together they were given over 400 years worth of jail time – with Dominique likely to die behind bars.
A total of 47 men were found guilty of rape, most against Gisèle, while two were convicted of attempted rape and two of sexual assault.
Men sentenced in Pelicot rape case
A TOTAL of 51 convictions were delivered in sentencing for the horrific Pelicot mass rape trial on December 19, in Avignon, France.
They included:
Dominique Pelicot – 20 years
Romain Vandevelde – 15 years
Charly Arbo, Jerome Vilela, Dominique Davies – 13 years
Jean-Pierre Marechal, Thierry Parisis, Cedric Grassot, Hassan Ouamou – 12 years
Fabien Sotton – 11 years
Joan Kawai, Nizar Hamida, Karim Sebaoui, Vincent Coullet, Jean-Luc LA- 10 years
Christian Lescole, Husamettin Dogan, Simone Mekenese, Cendric Venzin, Cyril Delville, Redouane Azougagh – 9 years
Lionel Rodriguez, Cyrille Delville, Boris Moulin, Nicolas Francois, Thierry Parisis, Redouane Azougagh, Jean Tirano, Mohamed Rafaa, Mahdi D, Ahmed Tbarik, Patrice Nicolle, Gregory Serviol, Abdelali Dallal, Paul Grovogui, Omar Douiri – 8 years
Ludovick Blemeur, Quentin Hennebert, Mathieu Dartus, Florian Rocca – 7 years
Andy Rodriguez, Adrien Longeron, Jean-Marc LeLoup, Patrick Aron, Cyprien Aron – 6 years
Jacques Cubeau, Philippe Leleu, Hughes Malago, Didier Sambuchi – 5 years
Joseph Cocco, Saifeddine Ghabi – 3 years
French cops had listed a sickening 92 rapes committed by 72 different men during the trial.
Just 51 of them – including Dominique – were identified via the sickening footage stored on his hard drive.
This means some 21 alleged rapists could be hiding in plain sight in the small town.
Most of the convicted were described as perfectly average, ordinary men including a gardener, farm driver, tradesman and retired fireman.
They joined Dominique in the depraved sexual assaults, before slipping back into everyday life, and went unnoticed for many years.
Speaking after her depraved ex was sentenced for almost a decade of secret abuse, Gisèle said she was left feeling “very emotional”.
Addressing press outside the court Gisèle told how she was thinking of her children and grandchildren and said: “For them, I wanted to put this struggle forward.”
France‘s President Emmanuel Macron joined the international outpouring of support for the brave grandmother, writing on X: “Thank you Gisele Pelicot… For all of us, because your dignity and your courage have moved and inspired France and the world”.
HOW YOU CAN GET HELP:
Women’s Aid has this advice for victims and their families:
Always keep your phone nearby.
Get in touch with charities for help, including the Women’s Aid live chat helpline and services such as SupportLine.
If you are in danger, call 999.
Familiarise yourself with the Silent Solution, reporting abuse without speaking down the phone, instead dialing “55”.
Always keep some money on you, including change for a pay phone or bus fare.
If you suspect your partner is about to attack you, try to go to a lower-risk area of the house – for example, where there is a way out and access to a telephone.
Avoid the kitchen and garage, where there are likely to be knives or other weapons. Avoid rooms where you might become trapped, such as the bathroom, or where you might be shut into a cupboard or other small space.
If you are a victim of domestic abuse, SupportLine is open Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday from 6pm to 8pm on 01708 765200. The charity’s email support service is open weekdays and weekends during the crisis – messageinfo@supportline.org.uk.
Women’s Aid provides a live chat service – available weekdays from 8am-6pm and weekends 10am-6pm.
You can also call the freephone 24-hour National Domestic Abuse Helpline on 0808 2000 247.
