Man accused of plotting wife’s rape by at least 50 strangers over almost 10 years is on trial in France

(CNN) — A man is on trial accused of repeatedly drugging and raping his wife, as well as encouraging dozens of other men to rape her in their home while she was unconscious, court documents show.

The alleged victim, Gisèle, 72, appeared in a courtroom in Avignon, France, on Monday for the opening of the trial, sunglasses on, her daughter and two sons by her side.

For the next four months, she will come face to face with her accused abusers, most of whom are complete strangers to her.

Prosecutors say the defendant, Dominique, 71, would recruit men online to rape his wife, after drugging her with sleeping pills and anti-anxiety medication. CNN is not using the full names of the man and wife to protect the identities of other family members.

He faces nine charges including several counts of rape with aggravating circumstances, the drugging of a victim to commit rape, and the sharing of images related to those assaults.

Prosecutors were able to put together a case because Dominique documented a number of the alleged assaults on camera.

Held in pre-trial detention since 2020, courtroom sketches show the defendant entered the courtroom in a black T-shirt and sat facing his wife.

“He recognizes that he’s done what he has done,” his lawyer, Béatrice Zavarro told journalists in court on Monday. “There was not an ounce of contestation during the whole investigation.”

In the dock, the men accused of taking part in these rapes sat with their heads down.

Police have identified at least 92 sexual assaults committed by 72 men, with ages ranging from 26 to 74, court documents show.

Fifty were identified, and most have been charged with either aggravated or attempted rape and are standing trial alongside Gisèle’s husband.

The ordeal lasted almost ten years, the first alleged assaults dating back to 2011.

The crimes came to light in 2020 when Dominique was caught filming under women’s skirts in a shopping center.

After police seized his phone and computer, they say they found evidence of the rapes. An investigation was opened, and the wife was made aware of the abuse she had endured for almost 10 years.

Court documents show that Dominique has told investigators that the other men were all aware his wife had been drugged without her knowledge, something a number of the other defendants deny.

Christophe Huguenin-Virchaux, a lawyer for one of the men 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 Gisèle was drugged or under medication.”

Throughout the trial, Gisèle will see and hear what was done to her.

On Tuesday, she 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, Stéphane Babonneau told CNN on Tuesday. “It was unbearable for her to hear people say they thought she was pretending to sleep and were convinced it was consensual,” he added.

Last Friday ahead of the trial, another one of her lawyers, Antoine Arebalo-Camus told reporters “she had no idea what had been inflicted on her, so she has no memory of the rapes she suffered for 10 years.”

Gisèle could have requested the trial be held privately, but Babonneau told CNN “she 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.”

Gisèle’s daughter says her mother sought medical advice for the memory loss and extreme fatigue she was experiencing as a side effect of the drugs.

Speaking to French media in several interviews, she said that her mother “saw doctors, she saw neurologists,” and that the medical profession failed to detect the problem.

The daughter has now started an awareness campaign called “M’endors Pas,” meaning “Don’t put me to sleep” on drug-facilitated sexual assault.

The trial began on Sept. 2 in the southern French town of Avignon, and a verdict is due on Dec. 20 this year.