This story discusses sexual assault.

For almost a decade, Gisèle Pelicot had no idea her then-husband was drugging her and inviting dozens of men to the house they shared to rape her.

Dominique Pelicot's crimes, which spanned from 2011 to 2020, were fully uncovered only after his arrest for secretly filming up women's skirts in public.

During the investigation, police discovered a cache of around 20,000 explicit photos and videos.

He had fastidiously filmed and documented his crimes against Gisèle, his wife, a French mother and grandmother.

Listen: The case that shocked France. Post continues below.

Investigators also found compromising photos of their daughter, Caroline Darian, in a deleted folder called "my daughter naked."

This included images of her asleep in her underwear — a pair she did not recognise.

While Caroline's brothers and husband continually pleaded with Dominique to explain the photos, he has never admitted to any sexual abuse of his daughter.

Gisèle Pelicot faced her abuser in court daily. Image: Getty.

And over the course of a highly-publicised trial, her mother, Gisèle was forced to face her trauma in vivid detail while sitting in court. She waived her legal right to anonymity and insisted on a public trial.

After pleading guilty, Dominique was sentenced to 20 years in prison.

The court also found 50 of Gisèle's identified attackers guilty of various charges. It's believed up to 20 perpetrators remain unidentified.

Caroline, 46, stood by Gisèle's side during the trial, unwavering in her support.

Caroline Darian and Gisele Pelicot in court on September 02, 2024 in Avignon, France. Image: Getty.

However, in the wake of the court case, the pair's relationship fractured.

Caroline claimed Gisèle didn't believe she'd also been drugged and raped by Dominique.

"My mother let go of my hand in that courtroom," she told The Telegraph. "She abandoned me.

"For four years, I accompanied my mum everywhere. I supported her without ever judging her. And it wasn't always easy because she didn't want to hear what I was telling her about Dominique."

While Gisèle may have been given some semblance of justice, Caroline feels she never got any.

She believed Gisèle was the only person who could have made Dominique confess to her allegations.

"In that courtroom, she was supposed to help me," she told The Telegraph. "And that I can never forgive her for. Never."

Caroline understands that it wasn't easy for her mother. It's acknowledged in the interview that Gisèle may not be able to process any more trauma.

But Caroline still feels let down. She didn't think she'd have to face it alone.

"My mother isn't an icon," she added. "Not to me."

A relationship on the mend.

Speaking to the New York Times last month, Gisèle confirmed her relationship with her daughter is slowly repairing and they now talk regularly.

Caroline reached out to Gisèle last year after she underwent surgery.

Gisèle acknowledged the profound impact Dominique's crimes — and subsequent trial — had on the family.

"Suffering doesn't necessarily bring a family together," she said.

"You need to understand, it's like an explosion that blows everything away. We try to recover, each in our own way and in our own time."

Gisèle addressed why distance grew between the two of them.

"I didn't want her to plunge into this pain. So it's true, I might have inadequately supported her at first," she told the publication.

"She was angry at me because of it, which is entirely reasonable. But I didn't abandon her; I tried to alleviate her suffering. I don't think she saw it that way. And that's why she put some distance between us.

Gisèle acknowledged the doubt and pain her daughter experienced through the investigation and trial.

"It's true that what Caroline went through is extremely painful. I'm deeply moved by her suffering, because this lingering doubt is an inescapable hell. There are no answers. There are those two photos of her asleep that open up a lot of questions. But I don't have any answers, and Monsieur Pelicot didn't give her any answers either."

Gisèle also wrote about the estrangement in her memoir A Hymn to Life: Shame has to Change Sides.

"Though I understood her suspicions … I couldn't let them become certainties. But to her, my words sounded like denial," Gisèle wrote.

"Without evidence, without a confession, I could not bring myself to say that the irreparable had taken place. Yes, I so hoped that it hadn't happened. For her sake, above all for her sake."

Caroline Darian pressed charges against her father in March 2025. Image: EPA via AAP.

Caroline's fight for justice.

Caroline refers to herself as the "forgotten victim" in this case.

In March 2025, she filed her own legal complaint against Dominique, accusing him of drugging and raping her. Prosecutors are yet to decide whether this will proceed to trial.

In Gisèle's 2024 trial, Caroline broke down when she heard that Dominique would not be cross-examined on the photos of her.

When she saw his expression at the decision, she couldn't take it, and screamed out in the courtroom, "You'll die alone, like a dog."

Dominique has denied Caroline's allegations against him, which were filed in March 2025.

For now, Caroline is haunted by the memories of the last few years.

In her memoir I'll Never Call Him Dad Again, she wrote that at first, she didn't recognise her father's photos of her.

"The officer studies my face. 'I hope you don't mind me pointing this out, but don't you have a brown mole on your right cheek, just like the young woman in the photos?' I force my eyes back to the images. My vision is disturbed by a host of tiny starbursts, my ears start ringing and I jerk back in the chair," she writes, per an excerpt shared with The Times.

"The officer calls in my brother, who'd driven me to the station. Florian asks if he can see the pictures of me.

"Now we're both in a state of shock."

If this has raised any issues for you, or if you just feel like you need to speak to someone, please call 1800 RESPECT (1800 737 732) – the national sexual assault, domestic and family violence counselling service.

Feature Image: EPA via AAP.