Gisèle Pelicot case: Unidentified men escaped justice in France

“There are people who appeared very blurred and we were unable to capture a photo”, explained the judge in charge of the investigation before the court on November 8, in the trial that lasted almost four months and received extensive national and international media coverage.

Others, with clear images of their faces, could not be identified because they did not appear in any police records. Not even facial recognition programs and social media searches were able to associate them with a name.

“In consultation with the Judiciary Police, we decided to stop the investigation at a certain point. We could have investigated for ten years,” said the judge.

Emblematic case

This trial became a symbol of sexual violence and brought to light the issue of chemical submission and assaults on unconscious victims.

The police also found 11 men contacted by Dominique Pelicot via Skype, who “clearly did the same with their partners”, confirmed to AFP the delegate Jérémie Bosse Platière, who led the operation.