The 44-year-old is one of 50 men accused of raping Gisèle Pélicot between 2011 and 2020.
Before the assaults, her then-husband Dominique Pélicot drugged her to the extent that she was almost unconscious, according to the prosecution. The case has received enormous attention in France, but also globally.
The 44-year-old man addressed Gisèle Pélicot directly in the courtroom:
I apologize, I can only imagine the nightmare you've been through, he said and continued:
I am part of this nightmare.
He admitted to the crime he was accused of, which took place in 2018.
I am guilty of rape, he said according to The Guardian.
Dominique Pélicot filmed a large part of the assaults, but the presiding judge Roger Arata decided on Friday that the films will not be shown to the public or journalists during the trial, reports AFP.
The trial is otherwise open to the public at the request of Gisèle Pélicot. She has thereby also been hailed as a hero during the proceedings and has been met with applause on her way into the courtroom on some days.
