SERIAL rapist Dominique Pelicot, jailed for a horrendous campaign of abuse against his ex-wife, is now facing a murder probe over the death of a young woman in the 1990s.
Described as the “Devil of Avignon”, Dominique spent a decade drugging and assaulting his wife Gisèle and offering her up to some 70 strangers.
Gisèle Pelicot speaks to press after the sentencing hearing in court on Thursday
A court sketch of Dominique Pelicot during the hearing on Thursday
Dominique Pélicot, 72, drugged and raped his wife Gisèle for years
He was sentenced to 20 years behind bars in Avignon after a harrowing months-long trial that shocked the world.
Now it has been revealed that he faces a second investigation for the 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.
Investigators in Nanterre, outside Paris, recently reopened the two cold cases and put Dominique under formal investigation, the Guardian reports.
They are reportedly considering possible links between him and other cases involving young estate agents, meaning he could face another trial.
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.
Dominique lured a then 19-year-old real estate agent into a building on the pretext that he might want to buy it.
He then pinned her to the ground, bound her wrists with rope, used ether on her and pulled down her pants.
As the drugs soon wore off, she was able to escape.
The second cold case refers to another young female estate agent who was raped and killed in 1991.
She was put to sleep – also with ether – while touring an apartment in Paris with an unknown client.
In court this month Dominique denied any involvement.
Neither case has gone to court yet, but Laure Chabaud, the prosecutor in the current case, said that it was clear that Dominique’s “deviant behavior had persisted over several decades.”
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.
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 on Thursday that 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”.
Gisèle Pelicot statement in full
“Please, if you could respect my emotional state as much as possible. Thank you. It’s with a lot of emotion that I’m here to make a statement.
“This case was a very difficult test for me. And I’m thinking first and foremost of my three children, David, Caroline and Florian.
“I’m also thinking about my grandchildren because they are the future and for them, I wanted to really put this struggle forward. Oran and Celene as well.
“I’m thinking about all the other families affected by this case and the non recognised victims in these stories, that are often in the shadows. You must know you share my struggle.
“I’d like to express my gratitude, my deepest gratitude to all the individuals who have supported me throughout this, with the witness statements and the testimonials.
“This really gave me strength to come back day after day for this long trial. I’d like to thank the Association for Support of Victims who have supported me throughout and all the journalists who have followed my case since its beginnings.
“I’d like to thank you and recognise the faithful and respectful treatment of the case that you have daily given. My lawyers, I thank you. Thanks for supporting me throughout this long journey.
“I wanted when I started on the 2nd of September to ensure that society could actually see what was happening and I never have regretted this decision.
“I now have faith in our capacity to collectively to take hold of a future in which everybody, women, men, can live together in harmony, in respect and mutual understanding. Thank you.”
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