A Man Filming the Group Assault of His Unconscious Wife by Strangers: Examining the Reasons That Led the Couple’s Romantic Life to This Point

The police quickly grew suspicious of the sixty-something Dominique, and upon searching his residence and inspecting the hard drive of his computer, evidence was uncovered that gave rise to one of the most controversial sexual abuse cases in France.

According to the police, investigators discovered over 20,000 meticulously categorized photos and videos from Dominique's residence. Dominique had given some of these videos bizarre titles, such as "Her Rapists (Giselle)," "Abuse," "Alone at Night," and similar names.

It may not just intrigue you but also shock and sadden you to learn that Giselle, nearly 70 years old, had no idea she had been assaulted by her husband and his accomplices until she saw the films and photos at the police station.

Poor Giselle learned that day that over more than two decades, she had been repeatedly assaulted and raped by her husband Dominique and dozens of his accomplices while unconscious. Dominique had meticulously recorded and archived all these incidents with a disturbingly obsessive precision.

However, Giselle made an admirable and significant decision in that moment. Although she was aware that under French law and the necessity to protect victims of sexual violence, she could remain anonymous, she chose instead to become a symbol of resistance against injustice. She attended every court session with her head held high and openly declared her belief that no victim should feel ashamed. She stated that the shame belongs to the perpetrators, abusers, and violators—not the victims.

Several psychologists have met with Dominique Pelico to understand the motives behind his actions, which have left the world in shock. If you, too, are curious about what was going on in the mind of this man who lived a double life, join us as we explore the psychologists' experiences meeting with him.

What goes on in the mind of a man who orchestrated a group assault on his wife?

On a cold February day in 2021, he stood in the visitation room, rising to greet Dr. Laurent Leight. The doctor was somewhat surprised by what he saw: "A neat and well-groomed man, freshly shaven, who walked toward me with composure and dignity."

Dr. Leight was among the first psychiatrists to evaluate Dominique Poliquin. Each expert sought signs and reasons to explain how this well-mannered retiree could commit such a monstrous crime, deceiving his victim—his wife—for so long without arousing suspicion.

Over his years of working with the French police and investigators, Dr. Leight had interviewed hundreds of rapists and sexual offenders. Yet, he had never encountered someone as seemingly calm and composed as this gray-haired former electrician, awaiting interrogation about drugging and sedating his wife Giselle, and inviting dozens of strangers to assault her while unconscious in their shared bedroom.

Reflecting on their first meeting, Dr. Leight recalled: "Something didn’t add up. I had never come across such an extraordinary case."

Even after the grueling ordeal of months of investigation and four exhausting months of court hearings—events that outraged people across France and the world while inspiring admiration for Giselle’s courage and resilience—Dominique Poliquin’s composed demeanor and commanding presence in the Avignon courtroom remained unchanged.

Imagine someone in Poliquin’s position—a sexual predator despised globally, a man facing the certainty of life behind bars. Surely, such a person would feel despair. Yet, only on rare occasions in court did he break down in tears—and even then, those tears were for himself.

However, most of the time, he adopted a commanding demeanor. In court sessions, he would hold the microphone in one hand while seated in a regal-like chair (provided to ensure his well-being as the accused). At times, he appeared indifferent; at other moments, he acted like the ringleader of a circus, as though trying to bring order to the chaotic spectacle of the 50 other men present in the courtroom alongside him.

At one point, he declared loudly: “I am a rapist, just like everyone else here. They all knew everything.” His words carried an air of finality, as if his statement should end all further discussion.

What can we deduce from this authoritative behavior? What do we know about this imposing figure with gray-streaked hair, a cane, and a black scarf, seated inside the glass enclosure? This serial rapist, whose cruelty and violence were overshadowed by the bravery and dignity of his ex-wife?

Dr. Laurent Leight first met Dominique Poliquin in late summer 2020, shortly after his arrest for secretly filming under a woman’s skirt at a supermarket. Dr. Leight was called in to assess Poliquin’s psychological state at the police station near the town of Carpentras. Poliquin casually denied his crime, much like a respectable grandfather might dismiss being caught stealing a pack of cigarettes.

Dr. Leight noticed inconsistencies in Poliquin’s behavior and signs that he was concealing something significant. He advised the police that this case warranted deeper investigation.

Years later, after two lengthy interviews with Poliquin in prison and assessments of 20 other co-defendants, Dr. Leight presented his detailed findings in court before the judges.

Dr. Leight, a meticulous and seasoned expert, emphasized that Poliquin displayed no signs of severe mental illness. He cannot simply be labeled as a "monster," nor is he psychotic to the extent of being unable to distinguish reality from fantasy. Now, as his persona is dissected and laid bare, Poliquin's character begins to emerge.

More sensational comparisons might cast him in the mold of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde or perhaps liken him to Hannibal Lecter, who remained composed and unshaken in his prison cell in The Silence of the Lambs.

However, Dr. Leight offers a more ordinary and unremarkable depiction of him.

He says, “He’s like a hard drive,” an apt analogy for Poliquin, as he had stored video evidence of his crimes on his computer.

Later, Dr. Leight explained in an interview with the BBC from his office in the town of Carpentras that Poliquin’s mind had, over time, become compartmentalized, much like the partitions of a computer hard drive—completely sealed off, with no overlap between them. His dual personality was strong. You either had the “ordinary” Mr. Poliquin or the Mr. Poliquin “at night in the bedroom.”

In court, Dr. Leight was asked to describe Poliquin’s “other” persona. He stated that it exhibited a mix of emotional and sexual abnormalities. This characterization was elaborated more precisely in the legal dossier, a French copy of which was also reviewed by the BBC:

"Egomania, vulnerable narcissism, emotional abnormalities... deviant sexual behavior including candaulism (deriving pleasure from making one's sexual partner available to others), voyeurism, and somnophilia."

Beatrice Zavaro, Pellicot's defense lawyer, eagerly embraced the theory of Pellicot's split personality during the final court sessions. She argued that the charming young man Gisèle Pellicot fell in love with and quickly married in 1973 "was not the same man who hurt her."

However, this was not the opinion of Dr. Light and the other psychiatrists consulted.

While Pellicot's behavior might have had two distinct facets, Dr. Light's metaphor of the hard drive suggests there was only one operating system guiding both his ruthless private desires and his public persona.

A simpler explanation might be to label Pellicot as having antisocial personality disorder—a term psychiatrists now use instead of "psychopath" or "sociopath" (a personality disorder characterized by a pervasive pattern of minimal empathy and disregard for or violation of the rights of others over a long period). Several specialists have concluded that this diagnosis fits Pellicot's warped mind.

He is not "insane" and cannot evade responsibility for the consequences of his actions. Instead, he displays entrenched symptoms of a personality disorder, marked by a lack of empathy toward others. These tendencies were exacerbated by the sexual abuse he suffered during childhood.

Florence Rault says, "Plicot is a cunning predator."

We now face another crucial question: Did Plicot become a predator only after his retirement, or had he been preying on women long before drugging his wife?

Florence Rault, sitting in the back rows during one of the final court sessions on a Tuesday evening, gazed at Dominique Plicot with an informed sense of disgust, surrounded by journalists typing on their laptops.Later, in an interview with the BBC, she said, "It was easy to deduce what happened in Mazan... This is just the culmination of a long story."

Ms. Rault, a lawyer and expert in criminal cases, is aware of something deeply disturbing about Plicot—an accusation of a heinous crime even more horrifying than the one for which he is currently being tried and convicted.Years ago, around 1990, Florence Rault fought for justice on behalf of two women who had been victims of violent behavior.More than 20 years before the assaults for which Plicot is now accused, in 1999, he was charged with harassing and attempting to assault a 23-year-old real estate agent known by the alias Marion in a Paris suburb. Marion managed to fend off his attack.After a DNA test on a drop of blood found on the victim’s shoe confirmed it belonged to Plicot, he eventually admitted in 2021 that he had been present at the crime scene. However, he denied any intent to assault her, and the investigation is ongoing.

Rault recalls, "When we told him his DNA was found at the crime scene, he said, 'Yes, it was me.'" This quickly brought to light an older case. In 1991, another young real estate agent, Sophia Narm, was assaulted and murdered. Although DNA evidence in that case was lost, the similarities between the two crime scenes were so striking that Plicot was questioned about it, though he denied involvement. The search for connections to other criminal acts continues.Ms. Rault does not expect Plicot to confess to past, unresolved cases.

Ms. Rault, who once sat down to talk with Plicot, was just as astonished as Dr. Lain by his "calm, composed, and dignified" demeanor. She says, "Plicot continues to deny everything until he is confronted with irrefutable evidence."Ms. Rault now observes him in the Avignon court and sees the same behavior. She also notes that Plicot vehemently denies, with tears and cries, the assault and abuse of his daughter Caroline, despite having taken indecent photos of her while she was asleep and unaware.

Rault says, "Caroline is convinced that her father sexually abused her, but since we have no evidence such as DNA to present against Plicot, it is clear that he will deny this as much as he can." She believes that the anguish of this uncertainty causes Caroline as much psychological harm as the suffering of a sexual assault victim who knows exactly what happened to them.

Pelicot has also been interrogated for the rape and murder of Sophia Narm in 1991.

Plicot's behavior in court toward his family was often revealing. Dr. Light, the psychiatrist, notes that the defendant narcissistically emphasizes the love his wife and children once had for him rather than the betrayal of their trust.Dr. Light says, "For Plicot, this life began as a love story, and he doesn’t want to appear indifferent to it."Ms. Rault attended court to observe other signs. Most importantly, she wants to confirm her sense that all of Plicot's crimes were meticulously premeditated and planned.She says, “Serial rapists… typically have a compulsive drive for their actions. They commit the assault, then move on and forget. But with Plicot, that’s not the case at all.”

Ms. Rault recalls the calculated actions of the assailant in Marion's real estate office in 1999. The way the attacker fabricated an excuse to return to his car and confidently retrieved a rope and a bottle of ether to incapacitate the real estate agent. Ms. Rault then points out that the man now sitting in the glass enclosure of the Avignon courtroom displays the same self-control, further evidence that he is indeed a cunning and deliberate predator.

“When it’s said he acted out of uncontrollable urges, that’s simply not true. He acted with complete calm and deliberate planning.”

On the same day Ms. Rault was present in the Avignon courtroom, I was seated beside her. Gisèle Plicot sat to the right, a few meters away. Across from us sat dozens of defendants. Dominique Plicot was seated to the left of the courtroom.During a break in the court proceedings, I approached Dominique Plicot. Under French law, journalists are not allowed to speak with the accused. I simply walked up and looked at him as he sat in the glass enclosure with his hand resting on the table. Then, he turned his head towards me and stared at me for about 20 seconds, though it felt much longer to me.

His facial expression didn’t change at all. He didn’t even blink, and then, like a man switching through repetitive TV channels out of boredom, he turned away from me.