A French woman was arraigned on Monday for killing the man who raped her for years as her stepfather before becoming her husband and pimp.
The case has now triggered defenders of women against male violence, as well as hundreds of thousands of people signing a petition for her release.
The woman identified as Valerie Bacot, 40, had in a book she published last month called ‘Everybody Knew’ said ‘I was afraid, all the time.’
Africa Daily News, New York understands that the trial, which began in Chalon-sur-Saone in France’s central Burgundy region, is due to run through Friday.
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Bacot was 12 when her mother’s partner, Daniel Polette, who was 25 years her senior, raped her for the first time.
He was sent to prison, but after his release returned and resumed the serial rapes.
At 17, Bacot became pregnant, got thrown out of the house by her alcoholic mother, and went to live with Polette.
Polette, also a heavy drinker, became increasingly violent, attacking her with a hammer at one point.
He later ordered her to work as a prostitute for truck drivers passing through, using the back of a Peugeot people carrier, giving her instructions through an earpiece that she had to wear.
Investigators established that Polette threatened to kill her if she refused, pointing a gun at her many times.
AFRICA DAILY NEWS, NEW YORK
