A French man stands accused in a rape trial of drugging his wife and encouraging numerous other men to rape her while she was unconscious at their home.
Dominique Pelicot, 71, is charged with drugging and repeatedly raping his wife, Gisèle, and inviting a total of 83 strangers to assault her while she was drugged at their home. The first incidents of abuse were reported in 2011 and lasted nearly a decade.
Key Details Emerge in French Rape Trial
On Monday, Gisèle, 72, appeared in court with her daughter and two sons to face the men accused of these horrific acts, many of whom are strangers to her.
Prosecutors claim that Dominique used online platforms to recruit men to rape his wife after drugging her with sleeping pills and anti-anxiety medication. He is facing multiple charges, including multiple counts of aggravated rape, drugging a victim to facilitate rape, and distributing images related to the assaults.
Prosecutors have built a strong case against Dominique because he recorded several of the alleged assaults. Since 2020, Dominique has been in pre-trial detention, and courtroom sketches depict him entering the court in a black t-shirt, where he faced his wife.
Dominique's lawyer, Béatrice Zavarro, told reporters that her client admits to the crimes and did not dispute any of the charges during the investigation. In court, the other men accused of participating in these assaults were seen with their heads bowed.
According to police, there have been at least 92 sexual assaults involving 83 men aged between 26 and 74. Fifty of these men have been identified, and most are facing charges of aggravated or attempted rape, standing trial alongside Dominique.
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Dominique Pelicot's Crimes Revealed
In 2020, police seized Dominique's phone and computer when he was caught filming women's skirts in a shopping center. They discovered evidence of rape, which led to an investigation that revealed to Dominique's wife, Gisèle, the extent of the abuse she had suffered for nearly ten years.
According to court documents, Dominique told investigators that the other men involved were aware that Gisèle had been drugged without her consent. However, some of the accused deny this claim.
One of the lawyers for the defendants, Christophe Huguenin-Virchaux, told CNN affiliate BFMTV that his client acknowledges having had sexual relations with Gisèle. He claimed these interactions were part of a "sexual game" between Gisèle and her husband and stated that he was unaware that she had been drugged or medicated.
As the trial progresses, Gisèle will have to confront the painful details of what happened to her.
On Tuesday, Gisèle endured a tough day in court as the horrifying details of her abuse were read aloud, along with the defense arguments from the accused men's lawyers. Her lawyer, Stéphane Babonneau, described the experience as extremely difficult for Gisèle, noting that it was particularly painful for her to hear that some defendants claimed she was pretending to sleep and that the acts were consensual.
Another lawyer, Antoine Arebalo-Camus, mentioned last Friday that Gisèle was unaware of the abuse she had suffered over the past decade due to memory loss caused by the drugs used on her.
Gisèle had the option to request a private trial but chose to make it public. Babonneau explained that she wanted everyone to hear the excuses offered by the accused men.
Gisèle's daughter has revealed that her mother sought medical help for memory issues and severe fatigue, symptoms resulting from the drugs. Despite consulting several doctors and neurologists, the problem went undiagnosed for years.
The trial began on September 2 and is expected to reach a verdict by December 20 this year.
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