How police allegedly arrested husband accused of drugging wife and inviting 83 men to rape her

Authorities say abuse against Dominique Pélicot lasted nearly a decade

A French man is accused of drugging his wife for nearly a decade and inviting dozens of men to rape her while she was unconscious.

Dominique Pèlicot, 71, is due to stand trial in Avingdon, France, along with 50 other men, whom he is accused of encouraging to rape his wife, Gisèle, 72, according to reports from The New York Times, British newspaper The Times And The Parisian.

Although 51 suspects are currently on trial in the case, authorities reportedly claim that Gisele was raped by 83 different attackers and assaulted at least 92 times. The Times reported.

Evidence of the alleged rapes was discovered in 2020 when police seized Dominique’s phones, cameras and electronic devices after he was accused of filming up the skirts of three women in supermarkets, according to reports from the The New York Times And Time.

Related: Husband on trial for drugging wife, inviting dozens of men to rape her

When police searched the devices, they reportedly found 20,000 videos and photographs documenting the attacks, dating back to 2011, the ministry said. The New York Times reported.

The Times It has been reported that Dominique has since admitted to drugging Gisele with ground sleeping pills which he put in her food and drinks.

Dominique’s lawyer, Beatrice Zavarro, said: The Times that his client did not contest the charges, saying he had “always declared himself guilty.”

Media reported that the accused husband allegedly found and recruited strangers – aged 26 to 73 – online and filmed some of the assaults.

Dominique and Gisèle, who are in the process of divorcing, have been married for more than 40 years and have three children and two grandchildren, according to Time.

Gisèle has no memory of the assaults and was only informed of the abuse after the police discovered it, The New York Times reported.

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According to her lawyer Stéphane Babonneau, Gisèle would like the trial to be public.

“She wants to raise awareness as widely as possible about what happened to her so that such events do not happen again,” Babonneau said. Time.

Both The Times and the The New York Times Authorities were also reportedly investigating Dominique in connection with the rape and murder of a woman in 1991 and an attempted rape the same year.

If you or someone you know has been sexually assaulted, please contact the National Sexual Assault Hotline at 1-800-656-HOPE (4673) or visit rainn.org.

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