‘I lived a lie’, tearful witness tells French mass rape trial

AVIGNON, France: A former partner of a co-defendant in a mass rape trial that has sparked horror and protests in France broke down in tears on Monday, telling the court she had “lived a lie” and might herself have been sexually assaulted.

“I don´t know if I was raped,” Emilie O., told a criminal court in the southeastern French city of Avignon. “It´s terrible, I will always have doubts.”

Emilie O. is a former partner of Hugues M., one among dozens of men accused of participating in the mass rape over a decade of Gisele Pelicot. Gisele´s then-husband Dominique Pelicot has admitted to drugging her into unconsciousness and inviting strangers into their home to rape her.

The 71-year-old has been on trial since the start of the month along with 50 other men aged between 26 and 74, many of whom have denied the accusations. Emilie O. said she herself might have been drugged and sexually assaulted by Hugues M., her former companion.

“I was manipulated and lived a lie,” said Emilie O., who had lived with the man for five years. “I´m still questioning everything,” she said without glancing at her former partner. Recounting her story, Emilie O. broke down in tears as she looked at Gisele Pelicot, who smiled back at her in a show of support. The 33-year-old said she had first met Hugues M. online and the two shared a passion for motorcycling.