Daughter tells father in French mass rape trial: “You’ll die alone”

The French mass rape trial saw public tensions on Wednesday as Dominique Pelicot’s daughter, Caroline, yelled to her father across the courtroom, stating he would “die alone like a dog”. Caroline Darian, aged 45, has consistently stated her belief that her father drugged and abused her, a conviction stemming from the discovery of semi-naked photographs of her asleep on his laptop. While he has denied these specific allegations of abusing his daughter, Dominique Pelicot has confessed to administering drugs to his wife, Gisèle, for ten years and to enlisting men online to rape her in their residence while she was unconscious. Dominique Pelicot, along with 50 other individuals, has been undergoing trial since September, with a verdict anticipated on 20 December. On an emotionally charged day in the Avignon courtroom, legal representatives for Gisèle Pelicot presented their closing arguments. They characterized the trial as historic and commended her bravery for relinquishing her anonymity to make the mass rape proceedings public. During her testimony to the court, Caroline articulated her distress regarding what she asserts are her father’s continuous falsehoods. Earlier in the week, speaking with profound emotion, she informed the court that her life had “stopped” when law enforcement officials initially presented her with images from her father’s laptop in 2020. On Wednesday, Dominique Pelicot received an opportunity to speak to his daughter as he took