A civil engineer accused of raping the wife of the Monster of Avignon has revealed how he was invited to his home and had sex with her for a ‘few seconds’.
Father of two Cyrille Delville, 54, is the third of 50 men to take the stand in the ongoing sex trial that has shocked France.
Retired electrician Dominique Pelicot, 73, is accused of sedating and raping his wife Giselle at their home in the tranquil village of Mazan during a ten-year nightmare.
Father-of-two Delville told the court he had met Pelicot in September 2019 after being invited to his house following an exchange of messages.
He confirmed that he had oral and straight intercourse with Mrs Pelicot and said that when he arrived she was ‘on her side’ and that he ‘didn’t see her face’.
Delville said: ‘He (Pelicot) told me to carry on, it lasted a few seconds and was filmed.
A defendant arrives at the courtroom on September 20 with a police officer
Gisele Pelicot (pictured) spoke out again on Tuesday about the rapes she suffered at the hands of scores of men while heavily sedated
A prison van arrives at the courtroom in Avignon on September 20
‘When I touched Mrs Pelicot she was breathing but she didn’t react, it did seem strange to me.’
He agreed he ‘didn’t have her consent’ and added: ‘Women do not belong to men, I hope that future generations will learn that.
‘I didn’t have Mrs Pelicot’s permission, he gave it to me, that’s the problem.’
Delville explained Pelicot had asked for a picture of his penis and in exchange had sent him a photo of his wife surrounded by five men and white tablets.
As he gave his evidence Mrs Pelicot looked at him, occasionally resting he head on the wall behind her, her daughter alongside.
While across the court room Pelicot sat in a wheelchair in a glass box surrounded by prison guards and a walking stick by his side.
Delville has admitted raping her and his name emerged from devices police recovered from Pelicot’s home in 2020 when he was arrested for ‘upskirting’ women in his local supermarket.
He told the court he had been seeing a counsellor and since his arrest and that it had ‘helped ease his heart’ as he ‘felt a lot of sadness for Mrs Pelicot’.
Sobbing as he spoke to the court Delville added: ‘I don’t know if I will ever be able to take this off me. I can’t sleep. I have nightmares.’
Dominique Pélicot is accused of recruiting men online to assault his wife repeatedly over 10yrs
Gisele Pelicot, flanked by her lawyer Stephane Babonneau, arrives at the courtroom on September 20
Gisele Pelicot pictured in a sketch with her daughter and lawyer in court on Wednesday
Gisele Pelicot arrives at the courtroom in Avignon on September 20
Delville told the court as a result of his involvement in the case his wife – who he had known for 32 years – had left him.
He told the court they had had a ‘normal sex life’ but had then become bored and he had started looking at pornographic websites and he had joined Coco.fr to ‘chat’.
Meanwhile a woman who was upskirted by Pelicot in September 2020 at his local supermarket spoke for the first time in an interview with French TV station BFMTV.
Identified only as Nathalie the mother of two described how she ‘didn’t shop in a dress for two years’ following the incident in Carpentras, a few minutes drive from Mazan.
She said: ‘He was acting like a miserable little guy, saying he hadn’t done anything. He was giving the attitude of a victim.’
Nathalie said the first she knew of what was happening was when a security guard approached and told her what Pelicot had been doing to her and three other women.
She added: ‘It was a month later when I realised the extent of what he had been up to, I threw away the dress I was wearing, I couldn’t stand it, I was traumatised.
‘For two years I didn’t go shopping in a dress anymore.’
In another development on Friday the trial judge ruled that press would also be banned from viewing graphic photos and videos of Mrs Pelicot.
Gisele Pelicot’s daughter Caroline Darian arrives flanked by her mother Gisele Pelicot at the Avignon courthouse on Tuesday
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
Mr Pélicot depicted appearing at the courthouse in Avignon on September 11
Previously public had been cleared from court and an adjoining room before they were screened but judge Roger Arata has ruled only those directly involved can see them.
One local journalist wrote on X, formerly Twitter, that it was ‘regrettable’ as he would no longer be able to ‘explain the substance of the case’ to the public.
EXCLUSIVE Mayor who belittled Monster of Avignon’s crimes, saying ‘no-one died, it was the rape of a woman’ apologises after his comments sparks outrage in France
A French mayor who belittled the horrendous crimes of the Monster of Avignon in an interview with MailOnline saying ‘no one was killed’ has apologised after his comments sparked outrage.
Louis Bonnet spoke to MailOnline earlier his month as the shocking trial of Dominque Pelicot, 71, and 50 other men accused with him of raping his wife began.
Speaking from the village of Mazan in southern France where the attacks took place, he had outrageously tried to play down the decade long abuse – which her ex husband has admitted – Mrs Pelicot suffered.
Mr Bonnet , 74, had told MailOnline: ‘It is serious, but at the same time no one has died. No child has been killed. It was the rape of a woman.’
He then went on to repeat his comments to the BBC a few days later adding: ‘It would have been much worse if he (Pelicot) had killed his wife.’
Louis Bonnet (pictured) spoke to MailOnline earlier his month as the shocking trial of Dominque Pelicot, 71, and 50 other men accused with him of raping his wife began
Continuing he said:’When there are kids involved, or women killed, then that’s very serious because there’s no way back.
‘In this case, the family will have to rebuild itself. It will be hard. But they’re not dead, so they can still do it.’
His comments sparked fury across France with feminist groups and social commentators condemning him for attempting to play down the attacks.
Author Salome Saque wrote on Instagram: ‘This is the time to affirm full support to Gisele Pelicot and to bring the system that produces violence to account.
‘I can’t believe that the mayor of Mazan has sought to trivialise this case.’
Mr Bonnet said that after he made his comments the town hall and website for Mazan – where actress Kiera Knightly was married – had been flooded with furious complaints regarding what he said.
In a statement to the media the right-wing mayor apologised for what he told MailOnline and said he ‘regretted’ his choice of words which had been ‘misunderstood’.
Gisele Pelicot, flanked by her lawyer Stephane Babonneau, arrives at the courtroom on September 20
This courtroom sketch by Valentin Pasquier shows Gisele Pelicot, left, and her ex-husband Dominique Pelicot, right, during his trial, at the Avignon court house, in Avignon on Tuesday
He added that he had ‘expressed’ himself badly and went on to say:’I understand that these remarks are shocking.
‘I am sincerely sorry and that is why I would like to apologise, particularly to the women who were hurt by the clumsiness of some of the words spoken.
‘In this constant media pressure, I strive to preserve the town that many seek to tarnish.
‘This terrible story deeply hurts but I am fully aware that this in no way comparable t the suffering endured by Gisele Pelicot and her family.’
Tension has increased around the court in the last few days as the men accused of raping Mrs Pelicot enter the court wearing masks and hats to avoid recognition.
Crowds cheer and applaud her arrival each day while the men are booed and jeered as they rush in to take their place on benches at the front of the court room.
Earlier this week a French TV crew were jostled by one of the accused who became angry when he realised he was being filmed and his lawyer had to step in to calm the situation.
[Notigroup Newsroom in collaboration with other media outlets, with information from the following sources]
