The daughter of the convicted rapist Dominique Pelicot, whose trial horrified France as it detailed his years of abusing his wife with strangers, filed a police complaint against him this week that accused him of drugging and raping her as well.
Mr. Pelicot was found guilty last December of drugging and raping his wife, Gisèle Pelicot, for about a decade, and inviting dozens of men to their home in southern France to rape her along with him. Fifty other men were also found guilty, mostly for raping or sexually assaulting Ms. Pelicot while she was in a deeply sedated state.
The four-month trial ignited deep discussion in the country about rape culture, the understanding of consent and the widespread use of basic sleep and anti-anxiety drugs to prey on people — a predation strategy that in France is called chemical submission.
During the trial, the Pelicots’ daughter, Caroline Darian, confronted her father twice, saying she was sure he had drugged and also raped her. Mr. Pelicot repeatedly denied that he had drugged or even touched his daughter, let alone raped her.
Prosecutors did not charge Mr. Pelicot with drugging or abusing his daughter last year. The complaint Ms. Darian filed this week will be examined by an investigating judge or prosecutor, who will decide whether there is enough evidence or not to indict Mr. Pelicot on new charges.
Mr. Pelicot was also found guilty last year of taking intimate photos of his daughter and daughters-in-law. Investigators found about 20,000 photos and videos investigators on his computers and hard drives that documented many of the hundreds of rapes he orchestrated on his sedated wife, and which allowed the police to identify other rapists.
