Gisele Pelicot rape case: Sons face 'devil' father in court as they speak of disgust and 'lost childhood'

Gisele Pelicot's sons have faced their "devil" father in court, with one saying he wanted to vomit when his mother revealed how he had let strangers rape her for years.

Ms Pelicot, 72, was allegedly sedated and repeatedly raped by Dominique Pelicot and at least 50 other men while she was unconscious.

She has waived her right to anonymity and insisted the trial in southern France should be public to shame her attackers.

Her eldest son, 50-year-old David Pelicot, testified on Monday and described how revolted he was when he discovered what had been going on.

"My mother told me that this man in court before us delivered her strangers to rape her. When I was told, I wanted to vomit," he said.

"We wanted to make this man disappear from the house. Within two days there were no more photos, no more clothes or any trace of him."

He added: "It feels like my childhood has been erased. Growing up, when my parents organised surprise parties for us, my friends would tell me how lucky I was to have a father like I did.

"Now none of my friends can understand how he has done this."

David Pelicot also accused his father of taking nude photos of his own wife while she was pregnant, and said he believed his sister's claims he had drugged her to take photos of her in her underwear.

Dominique Pelicot has previously confessed to all the charges, bluntly telling the court: "I am a rapist just like all the others in this room."

However, many of his co-defendants have said they believed Ms Pelicot was pretending to be asleep as part of a role-play, or that they were forced by her now ex-husband.

Gisele Pelicot's younger son, 38-year-old Florian Pelicot, also testified on Monday and in tears told his dad "four years ago I lost my father" and "my children have lost their grandfather".

"You called my mum a saint, but you in fact are the Devil," he added.

Florian Pelicot also described one occasion when he said he phoned the house and his father claimed his mother wasn't available as she had "gone out to buy bread".

"I asked him to get her to call me back. I didn't hear from her for another two days," he said.

Dominique Pelicot, 71, allegedly put sedatives in his wife's food to make her unconscious before the attackers came to rape her.

He recorded thousands of pictures and videos of the abuse, some of which have been played in court.

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Pelicot is said to have cleaned his wife's body after the attacks and given the men orders so she would not wake, including warming their hands, not wearing aftershave or smelling of cigarette smoke.

Details revealed in the ongoing trial in Avignon have shocked France but the courage of Gisele Pelicot has been widely praised.

The trial continues.

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