Psychologists testifying in one of France's worst-ever sexual abuse trials this week revealed chilling insights into the mind of the man at the centre of it all - Dominique Pelicot.
Mr Pelicot, a 71-year-old retired electrician, is facing up to 20 years in prison along with 50 other defendants, all of whom are accused of the 'aggravated rape' of Dominique's wife, Gisele.
He oversaw a near-decade-long campaign of abuse between 2011 and 2020 in which he systematically drugged his wife unconscious and invited dozens of strangers to their family home to rape her on camera.
Now, a slew of psychologists and detectives who interviewed Mr Pelicot following his arrest in September 2020 revealed that he complained the criminal charges against him had 'ruined his life' and said he and his wife could've continued living 'happily'.
Speaking at his trial in a court in Avignon, in France's Provence, they described him as a 'Jekyll and Hyde' man who considered himself a 'good husband' - even though he routinely drugged his wife and directed men to violate her without her knowledge or consent.
They also concluded that although he has acknowledged his crimes, he will always remain a danger and 'cannot be treated'.
A psychological report submitted to the court suggested Mr Pelicot displayed a tendency towards 'paraphilia' – sexual arousal in atypical situations – and also 'somnophilia' – an attraction to unconscious partners.
This made him a 'very caring and much-loved grandfather by day' but 'a rapist at night', psychologist Bruno Daunizeau explained in the report.
The 'two-faced personality' of a 'sex addict' and 'manipulative pervert' meant Mr Pelicot acted like the split-personality character in 'The Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde', the Gothic horror novel by Scottish writer Robert Louis Stevenson.
'During the day, you can be normal, and have another face at night,' said Dr Daunizeau.
Marianne Douteau, another psychologist, told the court that Mr Pelicot still felt his life could have carried on as normal, despite the crimes he has admitted to.
She agreed he had a 'split personality', and had inherited the temper of a violent father.
Ms Douteau said Mr Pelicot 'complains that this criminal case against him has destroyed his life.
'He claims everything could have continued as before if he had not been arrested.'
Mr Pelicot is said to have claimed: 'Gisele would not have known anything, we would have continued to be happy.'
Dr Douteau added that Mr Pelicot 'has a two-sided personality – he is a patriarch but he is also irresponsible and manipulative. Behind closed doors he does not respect limits.'
Mr Pelicot told detectives that he considered himself a 'good husband' to the woman he married in 1971 and had three children with.
He said he was 'respectful of his wife's desires and refusals' to sex, but 'also had fantasies about swinging,' and 'got pleasure in' seeing his wife undergo sexual acts that she normally refused'.
This afternoon, Dr Paul Bensussan said Mr Pelicot had tried to justify his abuse of his wife by the abuse he himself suffered as a child, tellinng the court that he believed the defendant will always present a danger.
The doctor said: 'Pelicot is a persistent liar... he has a split personality. Even if he says he acknowledges his crimes, he will remain a voyeur and exhibitionist.
'I do not believe that this can be treated.
'Sexual orientation is given for life, whether that sexuality is deviant or not. And the problem with perversion is that the doses must be increased.
'The only cure is old age because this leads to physical decline... this is not a satisfactory treatment.'
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