
Caroline Darian will never forget the moment her world shattered forever.
It was a Monday night in 2020 when her mother, Gisèle Pelicot, called. Her father, Dominique Pelicot, had been arrested for upskirting a woman in a supermarket. It revealed a devastating web of lies.
Mr Pelicot had been drugging his wife for almost 10 years and filming her, unconscious, being raped by him and over 50 strangers.
He put powerful tranquillisers into his Gisèle's food and coffee that put her to sleep for hours. As she slept, Pelicot allowed men he recruited via online chatrooms to abuse his wife.
She never knew about the abuse, until police found the footage as a part of their investigation into the supermarket crime.
The news was a shock to Gisèle, who told her daughter over the phone.
"At that moment, I lost what was a normal life. I remember I shouted, I cried, I even insulted him," Caroline, now 46, told the BBC of the initial phone call. "It was like an earthquake. A tsunami."
Last year, Dominique was sentenced to the maximum 20 years in jail. Caroline believes it's what her father deserves, saying he "should die in prison".
All of the 50 co-accused identified in the investigation were also found guilty of rape, attempted rape or sexual assault and were given varied sentences between three and 15 years.
The youngest abuser was just 22 when he entered the Pelicot's bedroom, while the oldest was in his early 70s. Many had children and were in relationships.
Gisèle Pelicot inspired women across the world. Image: AAP.