(Handout/Reuters)

Convicted rapist Dominique Pélicot now linked to other unsolved cases

Trigger warning: Discussion of rape and murder
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Dominique Pélicot drugged, raped, and trafficked his wife for nearly a decade, recording the abuse and inviting others to participate. His case was one of France’s most disturbing trials. Now, investigators believe his crimes go back even further, linking him to unsolved violent crimes from the 1990s.

A serial offender hiding in plain sight

For those unfamiliar with the details of the original trial, in 2024, Dominique Pélicot, 72, was convicted in one of France’s most shocking cases. For nearly a decade, he drugged and raped his wife, Gisèle, filming the assaults, which involved dozens of men. She was unaware until investigators uncovered hundreds of videos. 

Pélicot’s crimes surfaced after he was caught filming under women’s skirts, leading to his arrest. The three-month trial convicted 51 men, but Pélicot’s 20-year sentence was widely condemned as too lenient. The case sparked international outrage, highlighting systemic failures in addressing sexual violence and protecting women.

Authorities are now looking into whether Pélicot is linked to six other unsolved cases involving female real estate agents across France between 1991 and 2004. Five of these women were sexually assaulted, and one was murdered.

The fact that Pélicot was never caught earlier is a damning indictment of the justice system. He was arrested for filming under women’s skirts in 2010 a crime that should have led to a DNA check. But because of systematic failures, the request was never processed, allowing him to continue preying on women.

Had investigators connected his DNA back then, they could have linked him to a 1999 attack and possibly even to a 1991 murder. Instead, Pélicot was free to commit even more heinous crimes, including the decade-long abuse of his wife.

On Dec. 4, 1991, 23-year-old Sophie Narme, a young estate agent, was found dead in a luxury apartment she had been showing to a client. Her employers discovered her body after her worried parents reported her missing. The scene was horrific.

Investigators also noted a chilling detail: the presence of ether, a chemical used to render victims unconscious. It was soaked into a cloth, suggesting Narme’s killer had planned the assault and ensured she was unable to fight back.

For years, the case has remained unsolved. Despite various leads, police could not identify the man who had booked the appointment under the false name “Monsieur Duboste.” But in 2022, after Pélicot’s arrest for his crimes against his wife, detectives reopened the case. They found eerie similarities between Narme’s murder and another attack, one that Pélicot had already admitted to.

Nearly eight years after Narme’s death, another young estate agent was attacked under disturbingly similar circumstances. In May 1999, a 19-year-old woman, identified by the pseudonym Marion, was lured to an apartment in a Paris suburb by a potential buyer. Unlike Narme, Marion managed to fight back. She resisted inhaling the chemical, disarmed her attacker, and fled.

For years, her case remained cold, until 2022, when DNA from blood found on Marion’s shoe was matched to Dominique Pélicot. Confronted with this evidence, Pélicot admitted to the attack.

Additionally, Pélicot had also booked his appointment with Marion under a false name, just as the 1991 attacker had done. Investigators now believe the two crimes may be connected and that Pélicot may have been responsible for Narme’s murder all along.

When will women be taken seriously?

Pélicot’s case went viral worldwide because it was so grotesquely evil. People couldn’t believe the scale of his crimes, and yet his sentencing still failed to reflect their severity. What’s even more enraging is that we know he’s not unique. If Pélicot is responsible, the world should be outraged that it took this long to even connect the dots.

This isn’t about one man. It’s about a culture that lets men like him operate in broad daylight for decades. It’s about a legal system that consistently prioritizes protecting men’s reputations over protecting women’s lives.

Pélicot is exactly the kind of predator who should have never been free to keep offending. But he was, and he’s far from the only one.


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