A civil engineer accused of raping the wife of the Monster of Avignon has revealed how he was invited to her 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 quiet 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 home following an exchange of messages.
He confirmed that he had had oral and direct intercourse with Ms Pelicot and said that when he arrived he was “on her side” and that he “didn’t see her face”.
Delville said: “He (Pelicot) told me to go on, it lasted a few seconds and it was filmed.
A defendant arrives in the courtroom on September 20 with a police officer
Gisele Pelicot (pictured) spoke again on Tuesday about the rapes she suffered at the hands of dozens 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 seemed strange to me.”
He agreed that he “did not have his consent” and added: “Women do not belong to men, I hope that future generations will learn that.
“I don’t have Mrs. Pelicot’s permission, she gave it to me, that’s the problem.”
Delville explained that Pelicot had asked for a photo of his penis and in return had sent him a photo of his wife surrounded by five men and white pills.
As he testified, Ms. Pelicot watched him, occasionally leaning her head against the wall behind her, her daughter by her side.
While across the courtroom, Pelicot sat in a wheelchair in a glass box surrounded by prison guards and a cane by his side.
Delville admitted to raping her and his name appeared on devices police recovered from Pelicot’s home in 2020 when he was arrested for “upskirting” women at his local supermarket.
He told the court that he had been seeing counseling since his arrest and that it had “helped ease his heart” as he “felt very sad for Mrs Pelicot”.
Sobbing as he spoke to the court, Delville added: “I don’t know if I’ll ever get over this. I can’t sleep. I have nightmares.
Dominique Pélicot is accused of recruiting men online to assault his wife repeatedly over 10 years.
Gisele Pelicot, accompanied by her lawyer Stéphane Babonneau, arrives at the court on September 20.
Gisele Pelicot appeared in a sketch with her daughter and lawyer in court on Wednesday
Gisele Pelicot arrives at the Avignon court on September 20
Delville told the court because of his involvement in the case that his wife – whom he had known for 32 years – had left him.
He told the court that they had a “normal sex life”, but they had fallen out and he started looking for pornographic sites and had joined Coco.fr to “chat”.
Meanwhile, a woman who was upskirted by Pelicot in September 2020 in her local supermarket spoke for the first time in an interview with the French TV station BFMTV.
Identified only as Nathalie, the mother of two children, described how she “didn’t buy a dress for two years” after the incident in Carpentras, a few minutes’ drive from Mazan.
She said: “He was like a miserable man, 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 her and told her what Pelicot had done to her and three other women.
She added: “It was a month later when I realized the extent of what I had done, I threw away the clothes I was wearing, I couldn’t take it, I was traumatised.
“I haven’t gone dress shopping in two years.”
In another development on Friday, the trial judge ruled that the press would also be banned from viewing graphic photos and videos of Ms Pelicot.
Gisele Pelicot’s daughter Caroline Darian arrived with her mother Gisele Pelicot at the court in Avignon on Tuesday.
The abuse took place in the southern French town of Mazan and was only discovered after the man allegedly groped women in a local supermarket, prompting officers to search his home .
Mr. Pélicot resumed appearing at the Avignon court on September 11
Previously, the public had been released from the court and an adjacent room before they were screened, but Judge Roger Arata ruled only those directly involved can see.
A local journalist wrote about X, ex-Twitter, who was “deplorable” since he could no longer “explain the content of the case” to the public.
EXCLUSIVE The mayor who played down the Monster d’Avignon crimes, saying “no one died, it was the rape of a woman” has apologized after his comments sparked outrage in France.
A French mayor who played down the horrific crimes of the Avignon Monster in an interview with MailOnline by saying “no one was killed” has apologized after his comments sparked outrage.
Louis Bonnet spoke to MailOnline earlier this month, as the shocking trial of Dominque Pelicot, 71, and 50 other men accused with him of raping his wife.
Speaking from the village of Mazan in the south of France where the attacks took place, she had outrageously tried to downplay the ten-year long abuse – which her ex-husband admitted – Ms Pelicot suffered.
Bonnet, 74, told MailOnline: “It’s serious, but at the same time no one died. No child was killed. It was the rape of a woman.
He then repeated 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 this month, as the shocking trial of Dominque Pelicot, 71, and 50 other men accused with him of raping his wife.
Continuing he said: “When there are children involved, or women killed, then it is very serious because there is no way to go back.
‘In this case, the family will have to rebuild. It will be tough. But they’re not dead, so they can still do it.
His comments sparked outrage across France with feminist groups and social commentators condemning him for trying to downplay the attacks.
Author Salome Saque wrote on Instagram: “It’s time to affirm full support for Gisele Pelicot and surrender the system that produces violence.
“I cannot believe that the mayor of Mazan tried to trivialize this case.”
Mr Bonnet said that after he made his comments, the town hall and Mazan’s website – where actress Kiera Knightly was married – had been inundated with furious complaints about what he said.
In a statement to the media, the right-wing mayor apologized for what he said to MailOnline and said he “regretted” his choice of words which had been “misunderstood”.
Gisele Pelicot, accompanied by her lawyer Stéphane Babonneau, arrives at the court on September 20.
This court sketch by Valentin Pasquier shows Gisele Pelicot, left, and her ex-husband Dominique Pelicot, right, during their trial at the Avignon palace in Avignon on Tuesday.
He added that he had “expressed” himself and said: “I understand that these remarks are shocking.
“I am sincerely sorry and that is why I want to apologize, especially to the women who were hurt by the clumsiness of some of the words said.
“In this constant media pressure, I strive to preserve the city that many try to tarnish.
“This terrible story hurts a lot, but I am fully aware that this is not comparable to the suffering suffered by Gisele Pelicot and her family.”
Tensions have risen around the court in recent days as the men accused of raping Ms Pelicot entered court wearing masks and hats to avoid recognition.
Crowds cheer and applaud their arrival each day, as the men are booed and jeered as they rush to take their seats on the benches in front of the courtroom.
Earlier this week, a French TV crew was apologized to by one of the defendants who became angry when he realized he was being filmed and that his lawyer had to intervene to calm the situation.