Caroline Darian, the daughter of Dominique Pelicot, the Frenchman sentenced to 20 years for drugging his ex-wife so strangers could repeatedly rape her, has condemned her father as “a dangerous man” who “should die in prison.”
In her first television interview since his conviction, Darian spoke to the BBC for a program titled “Pelicot Trial: The Daughter’s Story,” set to air Monday. She described Pelicot, 72, as “always a sexual pervert” and expressed disbelief at his actions over more than a decade.
“He decided to choose the dark side,” Darian said, adding, “I don’t know if he is a monster, but he perfectly knew what he did. He’s not sick. He did everything consciously.”
Pelicot’s conviction last month, alongside 50 co-defendants, followed a public trial in Avignon that shocked France. His ex-wife, Gisele Pelicot, waived her right to a closed trial and was widely praised for her courage in confronting her abuser and seeking justice.
During the trial, Darian revealed her belief that she, too, was drugged and raped by her father. Photos of her unconscious body were found among the meticulous records he kept of his crimes. While Pelicot denied these allegations in court, Darian dismissed his claims as lies.
“I look straight to the criminal, to the sexual criminal he is,” she said. “He’s a stranger to me now.”
