WARNING: This story contains details of sexual abuse.
The daughter of convicted French rapist Dominique Pelicot has filed a complaint against her father accusing him of sexual abuse.
Pelicot was sentenced to 20 years in prison for repeatedly drugging and raping his then-wife and inviting dozens of men to do the same for almost a decade.
Caroline Darian said she suspected her father drugged her and committed "sexual abuse" against her as well, after she found pictures of her naked and unconscious body among the detailed records he kept of his crimes.
Ms Darian told the Agence France-Presse (AFP) she took the legal action as a "message to all victims" of sexual abuse who were drugged not to give up.
Pelicot has always denied he abused his daughter, according to AFP.
"Yes, he denied it, but he also lied several times and gave different versions of the story during the two and a half years of the investigation," Ms Darian said.
Ms Darian's mother, Gisele Pelicot, last year became a feminist icon for her courage in confronting her former husband during the trial.
Ms Pelicot insisted that the trial be held in public and waived her right to anonymity.
Dominique Pelicot's 50 co-defendants were also found guilty and handed various sentences of between three and 15 years.
"We clearly saw in court that at no time was Dominique capable of telling the whole truth about what happened," Ms Darian added.
Ms Darian has campaigned for awareness about the use of drugs to commit sexual abuse, and in 2022 wrote a book about the family's ordeal, Et j'ai cesse de t'appeler Papa (And I stopped calling you Dad).
Her new book about victims of sexual abuse, titled For Us To Remember, hit bookstands on Wednesday, local time.
"Rebuilding requires recognition of my status as a victim," she told AFP. "I know that the road is still long".
She said she wanted other victims of chemical sedation to be able to "tell themselves that there are things to do, there are remedies, and we must never give up".
AFP/ABC
