FRANCE’S most notorious serial rapist has been summoned for questioning over an unsolved murder of a young woman.
Dominique Pelicot, 72, has been dragged out of his hellhole prison cell and is due to speak to specialist “cold case” magistrates in Paris on Thursday.
Sophie Narme, 23, was raped and murdered in 1991[/caption]
Dominique, who was labelled the “Beast of Avignon”, has spent the past month in solitary confinement after being found guilty of the aggravated rape of his ex-wife, Gisele Pelicot.
He drugged his loyal wife for almost a decade and allowed over 50 men he met on the internet to rape and sexually abuse her against her will.
Pelicot is currently locked away in a high security prison close to the southern city of Avignon.
An investigating source in Paris told the BFM news channel: “Dominique Pelicot has been summoned for questioning this Thursday, January 30, by the cold case unit of the Nanterre Judicial Court.
“He will therefore be taken from his cell in the detention centre where he is serving a 20-year sentence for the aggravated rapes committed on his ex-wife Gisele Pelicot.”
Pelicot will specifically be questioned at length about the rape and murder of Sophie Narme, a 23-year-old estate agent, who died in 1991 in greater Paris.
And he will also be asked about the attempted rape of another estate agent identified only as Marion, 18, who was attacked in the same area in 1999.
Both attacks happened close to where Pelicot was living with his wife and three children at the time.
His DNA was put on a national database following his arrest over the crimes involving his wife, and this has led to him being linked with both the Narme and Marion case.
Another investigating source said: ‘Pelicot is linked to at least four unsolved cases of sexual violence and a murder at the moment, and these two are currently being prioritised.’
The escalation in the enquiry means that Pelicot could soon be facing futher criminal trials.
Investigating Judge Nathalie Turquey, one of three magistrates in the cold case unit of the Nanterre Judicial Court, in the northern Paris suburbs, signed the latest summons.
Pelicot denies any involvement in the murder of Sophie Narme.
He initially confessed to the Marion attempted rape, after his DNA linked him with it, but he now denies any involvement, said at least two investigating sources.
Pelicot’s lead defence lawyer, Béatrice Zavarro, said she did not wish to comment on his latest summons.
Men sentenced in Pelicot rape case
A TOTAL of 51 convictions were delivered in sentencing for the horrific Pelicot mass rape trial on December 19, in Avignon, France.
They included:
Dominique Pelicot – 20 years
Romain Vandevelde – 15 years
Charly Arbo, Jerome Vilela, Dominique Davies – 13 years
Jean-Pierre Marechal, Thierry Parisis, Cedric Grassot, Hassan Ouamou – 12 years
Fabien Sotton – 11 years
Joan Kawai, Nizar Hamida, Karim Sebaoui, Vincent Coullet, Jean-Luc LA- 10 years
Christian Lescole, Husamettin Dogan, Simone Mekenese, Cendric Venzin, Cyril Delville, Redouane Azougagh – 9 years
Lionel Rodriguez, Cyrille Delville, Boris Moulin, Nicolas Francois, Thierry Parisis, Redouane Azougagh, Jean Tirano, Mohamed Rafaa, Mahdi D, Ahmed Tbarik, Patrice Nicolle, Gregory Serviol, Abdelali Dallal, Paul Grovogui, Omar Douiri – 8 years
Ludovick Blemeur, Quentin Hennebert, Mathieu Dartus, Florian Rocca – 7 years
Andy Rodriguez, Adrien Longeron, Jean-Marc LeLoup, Patrick Aron, Cyprien Aron – 6 years
Jacques Cubeau, Philippe Leleu, Hughes Malago, Didier Sambuchi – 5 years
Joseph Cocco, Saifeddine Ghabi – 3 years
HOW YOU CAN GET HELP:
Women’s Aid has this advice for victims and their families:
- Always keep your phone nearby.
- Get in touch with charities for help, including the Women’s Aid live chat helpline and services such as SupportLine.
- If you are in danger, call 999.
- Familiarise yourself with the Silent Solution, reporting abuse without speaking down the phone, instead dialing “55”.
- Always keep some money on you, including change for a pay phone or bus fare.
- If you suspect your partner is about to attack you, try to go to a lower-risk area of the house – for example, where there is a way out and access to a telephone.
- Avoid the kitchen and garage, where there are likely to be knives or other weapons. Avoid rooms where you might become trapped, such as the bathroom, or where you might be shut into a cupboard or other small space.
If you are a victim of domestic abuse, SupportLine is open Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday from 6pm to 8pm on 01708 765200. The charity’s email support service is open weekdays and weekends during the crisis – messageinfo@supportline.org.uk.
Women’s Aid provides a live chat service – available weekdays from 8am-6pm and weekends 10am-6pm.
You can also call the freephone 24-hour National Domestic Abuse Helpline on 0808 2000 247.
