“I don’t see the trap”, an accused convinced of not having committed any fault

The Mazan rape trial, which is currently taking place before the Vaucluse criminal court, took an unexpected turn on Tuesday, September 24 with the testimony of Hugues M., nicknamed Motard. This 39-year-old man, tried for attempted aggravated rape of Gisèle Pélicot, firmly maintained that he had not committed no fault during that October night in 2019 at the Pélicot couple’s house. Convinced of his good faith, it seems certain that his lack of erection that night exonerates him.

Dressed in a grey sweater with white stripes, with a receding hairline and a thick beard, Hugues M. confidently takes the stand, a smile on his lips, as revealed The ParisianHe defends himself with conviction: “I stand by my position. I made the right decision in leaving the room,” he explains.

The explanation of an accused at the Mazan trial

When he went to the Pelicots, Hugues M. thought he was dealing with a libertine couple, spotted a few hours earlier on Coco.fr via an evocative pseudonym. According to him, nothing suggested that it was a trap. “I am misled, I do not see the trap”, he claims. At the time, he did not realize that Gisèle Pelicot, the couple’s wife, was unconscious. “When I arrive, I am faced with this situation, I am not going to ask him: How are you? For me, the couple must have talked about it, it’s clear between them”, he continues.

However, the reality is quite different. As the court recalled, Gisèle Pelicot was not simply asleep, but completely anesthetized, her head back, mouth open, snoring loudly. This scene is part of the videos that her husband archived. “I don’t pay attention to his face when I arrive, I look at his body,” tries to justify Hugues M., who tried to have sex with her before leaving the premises.

“She drank too much again”

It was only then that Dominique Pelicot, Gisèle’s husband, allegedly justified her condition by saying: “She drank too much again.” For Hugues M., this explanation would have been enough to justify the victim’s lack of reaction. “There, it no longer interests me, because we are no longer in a sharing situation. I decide to leave”, he relates. According to him, nothing allowed us to understand that Gisèle Pelicot was under chemical submission. “It’s obvious when you know it, but at the time, I can’t guess it,” he pleads. This defense leaves Mr. Stéphane Babonneau, the lawyer for the civil party, perplexed: “So your conclusion, after three years of reflection, is that you are innocent?”

This is not the first time that Hugues M. has been the subject of suspicions concerning inappropriate behavior. On Monday, his ex-partner, who attended the trial, confided her fears that she had also been victim of chemical submission, which he firmly denies. She remembers attacks of vertigo in the fall of 2019 and a night when she woke up with a start while Hugues M. had puts his fingers into her vagina. According to him, this had happened “while sleeping”.

Passionate about women’s news, Agathe has been deciphering the latest trends for aufeminin since 2022. Her favorite areas? Psychology, nutrition and well-being advice, not to mention tips…