Coco: the predator website that allowed Gisèle Pelicot to be raped by 51 men

“It looked innocent, but when you walked in, it was a jungle.” Anonymous chat site opened the door to crimes that shocked France and the rest of the world.

An anonymous chat platform launched in 2003, Cocowas closed by European authorities in June this year after being linked to thousands of horrific crimes, including this year: the mass rape of Gisele Pelicotwith her ex-husband at the helm.

Dominique Pelicot He was mainly responsible for orchestrating an absolutely macabre plan, which culminated this Thursday in his being sentenced to a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison. For a decade, the Frenchman used the website Coco under the pseudonym “à son insu” (“without his knowledge”), to attract fifty men and invite them to rape his wife.

It was at Coco that Dominique met other rapists and coordinated their abuse. He alleged on the website that he and his wife shared sexual fetishes, including one that involved having sex while she was unconscious.

However, investigations revealed that . But Gisèle, who has since become one of the struggle of all victims of sexual assault and violence, recorded more than 20 thousand videos of these violent acts and had the courage to present them as evidence in court.

The case culminated in a trial in Avignon, where this Thursday 47 men were convicted of rape. Another four were convicted of attempted rape or sexual assault.

Homicide, pedophilia and more

Gisèle, unaware of the crimes for years, was the victim of horrendous abuse facilitated by the lack of moderation on the platform Cocooften associated with murders, child sexual abuse and homophobic attacks.

Coco allowed users to create profiles with fictitious ages and identities, creating an environment conducive to illicit activities. The site was mentioned in more than 23 thousand reports of criminal activity and linked to at least 480 victims in judicial investigations, according to French prosecutors in the Pelicot case, cited by .

Despite the scrutiny, the site remained immune to intervention by authorities for more than 20 years.

“It looked like a jungle”

The site “seemed very innocent”, recalls Sophie Antoine, responsible for the legal defense of the French organization combating child prostitution ACPE to the British newspaper, “but when you entered, it looked like a jungle“.

Although the site asked users to confirm they were over 18, they could quickly change their age once they gained access to the platform and chat under a made-up username.

“It was very accessible and very explicit — there was no control over it“, said Antoine, who detailed the content of the site. There was a list of several chat forums dedicated to various topics, mostly of a sexual and criminal nature, without moderation.

Authorities began investigating Dominique in 2020 after he was caught trying to film women in a supermarket. It was from that moment that the investigation was expanded by Junalco, the French national authority to combat organized crime, which ended up closing Coco in June 2024. The platform even tried to transfer the site’s domain to Guernsey, but international pressure guaranteed the end of the platform.

It is not yet clear whether prosecutors will charge Isaac Steidlfounder of Coco, who has yet to say anything about one of the most publicized cases of the year. However, it became clear in court that the abuse, hidden for years, would not have been possible without Coco.