HIV-positive Suspect in Rape Case of Gisèle Pelicot: 'I was a zombie'

paris - Romain V. (63), who is HIV-positive, raped Gisèle Pelicot without using a condom, claiming to have 'permission from Dominique Pelicot'.

Romain V. (63), who is HIV-positive, raped Gisèle Pelicot without using a condom, claiming to have 'permission from Dominique Pelicot'.

Between December 2019 and June 2020, Romain V. visited the Pelicot couple's house six times, following the same ritual each time. He took off his shoes, undressed, and warmed his hands before quietly entering the couple's bedroom. In a confused and often contradictory story, Romain V. tried to explain on Wednesday why he went to Mazan six times to sexually abuse Gisèle Pelicot. He denies the rape allegations, despite video evidence contradicting his denial.

Bent over in the defendant's box, his hands clamped in front of him, the 63-year-old described himself as a 'zombie being controlled' by Dominique Pelicot. The defendant alternately justified his presence in the Pelicot household by 'fear' of Dominique Pelicot, the desire for 'social contact', or claiming to have acted as 'a self-guided zombie'. 'I didn't question myself. I don't even understand how Dominique Pelicot managed to get me to come to his house six times,' claimed V., to the surprise of the court and particularly of the presiding judge, Roger Arata.

When asked if he bothered to ask the victim for permission, he replied, 'I had the permission of the husband,' an argument put forth by several co-defendants during the massive trial involving 51 men accused of raping the drugged Gisèle Pelicot.

Responding to how he felt when he saw the victim unconscious, loudly snoring, V. said, 'I thought she was half awake, tired.' He systematically avoided difficult questions by referring to his 'memory loss', a result of his medical treatment. 'My treatment makes me sleepy,' stated the 63-year-old, who has been HIV-positive since 2004. On none of the six occasions he visited Mazan, did he use a condom. He declared to the court, 'I am not contagious, I cannot infect anyone.'

Asked about the five hundred messages he exchanged with Dominique Pelicot in six months, V. replied, 'I really don't remember.' Yet something in him prompted him to respond to Dominique's messages, who is seen as the main suspect in the extensive sex crime case. 'Maybe because we talked about cycling,' vaguely explained the 63-year-old. To undermine his random justifications, the prosecutor requested that four of the hundreds of videos found on Dominique Pelicot's hard drive be played in the courtroom.

The devastating video footage shows the suspect, Romain V., kissing Gisèle Pelicot for an extended period and inserting his tongue into her mouth while she does not react, aside from loud snoring. Another video shows him penetrating her from the front, as she lies motionless on the marital bed and the snoring intensifies. In the third scene, he penetrates her with his fingers, smiles, gestures to Dominique Pelicot's camera (even though he told the court he didn't know he was being filmed) while whispering not to wake her up. In the final scene, he forcibly performs oral sex on Gisèle Pelicot, who, still snoring, begins to choke.

After seeing these images, Stéphane Babonneau, one of Gisèle Pelicot's lawyers, persistently questioned the suspect about 'what he had done' and whether he thought 'rape had occurred'. Romain V. steadfastly denied with answers like 'no' and 'I know nothing about it'.

The 63-year-old is accused of aggravated rape and could face twenty years in prison, like most defendants in this extensive and extraordinary trial. If he regrets visiting the Pelicot household multiple times, it is mainly because it led to his incarceration. 'I shouldn't have met that couple; I should have stayed alone.'