A 71-year-old man is facing trial in France for drugging his wife with sleeping pills and anti-anxiety medication, and then recruiting over 50-70 men online to rape her in their home, CNN reported citing court documents.
The alleged victim, Gisele, 72, attended the first day of the trial in Avignon, accompanied by her daughter and two sons.
According to the court documents, police have identified at least 92 sexual assaults committed by 72 men, who were in the age group of 26 to 74. 50 were identified, and most have been charged with either aggravated or attempted rape and are standing trial alongside Gisele's husband.
The ordeal lasted almost 10 years, the first alleged assaults dating back to 2011.
Prosecutors stated that the defendant, Dominique, 71, used to recruit men online to rape his wife, after drugging her with sleeping pills and anti-anxiety medication.
The accused husband faces nine charges including several counts of rape with aggravating circumstances, the drugging of a victim to commit rape, and sharing of images related to those assaults, as reported by CNN.
Notably, the prosecutors were able to put together a case because Dominique documented a number of the alleged assaults on camera.
"He recognises that he's done what he has done," his lawyer, Beatrice Zavarro told journalists in court on Monday. "There was not an ounce of contestation during the whole investigation."
A decade-long case of alleged sexual abuse came to light in 2020 when Dominique was caught filming under women's skirts at a shopping center.
Upon seizing his phone and computer, police discovered evidence of multiple rapes involving his wife, who was unaware of the abuse.
An investigation revealed that Dominique had been drugging his wife and inviting other men to rape her, with some defendants claiming they were unaware of the drugging.
Dominique, however, maintains that all participants knew his wife was incapacitated.
Christophe Huguenin-Virchaux, a lawyer for one of the acused told CNN affiliate BFMTV on Tuesday that his client 'admits that sexual relations did in fact take place' but that they took place as part of a 'sexual game between a husband and his wife that he was invited to', adding that he was 'not aware that Gisele was drugged or under medication'.
On Tuesday, victim Gisele sat through a reading of the horrific acts she was subjected to, as well as the arguments from each of the defendants' lawyers.
"It was very difficult," one of her lawyers, Stephane Babonneau said. "It was unbearable for her to hear people say they thought she was pretending to sleep and were convinced it was consensual."
Last Friday ahead of the trial, one of her lawyers, Antoine Arebalo-Camus told reporters, "She (victim) had no idea what had been inflicted on her, so she has no memory of the rapes she suffered for 10 years."
Notably, Gisele could have requested the trial be held privately, but Babonneau said, "She (victim) wanted it to be a public trial so that everyone can hear and get an idea of the excuses given by men in such circumstances," CNN reported.
Gisele's daughter says her mother sought medical advice as she was suffering from memory loss and extreme fatigue, she was experiencing as a side effect of the drugs.
Speaking to French media, she said that her mother 'saw doctors, she saw neurologists', but added that the medical profession failed to detect the problem.
The daughter has now started an awareness campaign called 'M'endors Pas', which means, 'Don't put me to sleep' on drug-facilitated sexual assault.
The trial began on September 2 in the southern French town of Avignon, and a verdict is due on December 20 this year, CNN reported.
