Horrified silence as France court shown 27 graphic photos of drugged wife 'being raped'

WARNING: DISTRESSING CONTENT - Dozens of men allegedly raped Gisèle Pélicot after it is said her husband Dominique Pélicot drugged her at their family home near Avignon in southern France

A horrified silence descended on a courtroom today as 27 graphic photographs of the rape of Gisèle Pélicot were shown to the jury.

Ms Pélicot, 71, continues to face her defendants in the trial which has rocked France for weeks. While her husband Dominique Pélicot, also 71, has testified he had drugged and raped his wife, dozens of men deny charges of rape.

And today unsettling images were shown to the court of Ms Pélicot naked and conscious, in "lewd" positions, and of her crotch. Before they were displayed, the woman's daughter Caroline Darian left the courtroom in Avignon, southern France, at her mother's request.

Lawyers argued the images, extracted from Pélicot's harddrive, would be "useful in revealing the truth". Ms Pélicot told the jury she had no memory of the pictures ever being taken, and argued that "they're trying to trap me with these photos... to show that I baited these individuals into my home and that I was consenting."

Defendants have since insisted that they were unaware of the plot to sedate and rape Ms Pelicot, one claiming they had seen photos of her naked and conscious in the garden - which they inferred meant "she was in agreement".

Isabelle Crépin-Dehaene, defence attorney, argued the graphic photos showed Ms Pélicot "awake" and "smiling". She said: "Not all women would accept this type of photo. They show that there was a request from the husband that the wife was perfectly aware of. I deduce that the Pélicot couple played a sexual game of their own."

Lionel Rodriguez, 43, was among those to take the stand on Thursday charged with raping Gisele Pélicot while she was in a state of semi consciousness.

He claimed that he believed Gisele was involved in a "game" of sorts, telling the court: "It was my biggest mistake from the start not to have asked to speak to Gisele but it seemed impossible to me that she was not in the game. Pélicot sent me pictures of Gisele naked in the garden, but she was awake, and it made me think she was in agreement."

Rodriguez said his wife had left him after news of his involvement in the case broke and he then turned to Ms Pélicot to apologise to her for his actions.

Dressed in a black bomber jacket and dark jeans, Rodriguez said: "I never wanted to hurt you but I did, I want to ask for forgiveness.

"I can imagine your nightmare, it's horrible to think I am part of this nightmare. My apologies will not change anything, but I wanted to tell you."

Ms Pélicot, who has waived her right to anonymity, simply stared at him and remained emotionless as she sat just feet away from him.

Rodriguez met Pélicot through a now closed forum called Coco.fr and the two men exchanged messages over a period of time in 2018.

Lawyers for Rodriguez and the others are claiming the men were under the impression Ms Pélicot was complicit, a willing participant and they were duped. Rodriguez told the court that when he arrived Ms Pélicot was naked on a bed and appeared to be asleep.

He went: "Pélicot told me to lie down next to her and I caressed her, I penetrated her but during the act I slipped and he made me leave the room."

A 72-year-old retired marine firefighter - the oldest of 50 men accused of raping the woman - also gave his testimony on Thursday.

Grandfather Jacques Cubeau denies raping Dominque Pélicot's wife Gisele, in a trial that has grabbed worldwide headlines.

And just like Lionel Rodriguez before him – he offered his apologies to her and said: "Madam, when I discovered what you had suffered, I was devastated. Having participated in all of this destroyed me. I hope that you, your family, will overcome all of this."

In a separate case, Pélicot has been charged with raping and murder of a 23-year-old estate agent in Paris in 1991. The former electrician - who is sitting in a wheelchair surrounded by prison guards for the hearing in Avignon which started earlier this month - has also admitted one rape in 1999, after DNA testing linked him to the attack.

The case is expected to last until December and 14 of the defendants have admitted rape whilst the rest deny any wrongdoing.