Dominique P�licot has been accused of drugging his wife Gis�le and
inviting dozens of men to rape her over the course of nearly a decade
Reports suggest 92 rapes were committed by 83 men, and 51 men are heading
to trial

"She wants to raise awareness, as widely as possible, of what happened to
her so that events like these never happen again," one of the victim's
lawyers, St�phane Babonneau, said, per U.K. newspaper The Times
A man in France is on trial after being accused of drugging his wife and
inviting dozens of men to rape her over the course of almost a decade,
according to reports.

On Monday, Sept. 2, Dominique P�licot's case headed to court in Avignon,
after he was accused of inviting multiple men � including firefighters,
masons, gardeners, prison guards, soldiers and journalists, now between
the ages of 26 and 73 years old � to have sex with his wife Gis�le, 71,
while she was unconscious, per French paper Le Parisien.

According to the New York Times, police spent the two years after learning
about the abuse in 2020 tracking the suspects down.

Le Parisien stated 51 men are heading to trial, but U.K. newspaper The
Times added that a total of 92 rapes had been committed by 83 men through
the years.

https://people.com/thmb/0Q-
S1gHK7JlSHkxLrZdxvQNws88=/4000x0/filters:no_upscale():max_bytes(150000):st
rip_icc():focal(818x354:820x356):format(webp)/gisele-pelicot-husband-rape-
case-with-daughter-son-france-090224-4823-
0fe958f7746149b9abade53537993103.jpg

Per the NYT citing police, Dominique, 71, has admitted to putting ground
sleeping pills into Gis�le's food and drink, before inviting the men to
rape her after looking for them online. The outlet citing police stated
Dominique would sometimes film the assaults, reporting that police found
more than 20,000 videos and photographs amid their investigation, with the
timeline dating back to 2011.

The couple, who are getting a divorce, had been together for 50 years and
share three children and two grandchildren, per U.K. newspaperThe Times.

Prior to realizing the abuse had taken place, Gis�le had been suffering
from memory loss and physical symptoms, but she only became aware of the
assaults once police told her, the outlet reported. Officers had raided
the family's Mazan home amid accusations that Dominique had been filming
up three women's skirts in a supermarket, per the U.K. publication.

https://people.com/thmb/66bFoRoCMb1mXwcGTLFb4onfYVg=/4000x0/filters:no_ups
cale():max_bytes(150000):strip_icc():focal(810x182:812x184):format(webp)/g
isele-pelicot-husband-rape-case-france-090224-4825-
6b718e0557df41188cc69a205bcf0a6c.jpg

According to the outlet, Gis�le wanted the trial to be public. One of her
lawyers, St�phane Babonneau, said: �She wants to raise awareness, as
widely as possible, of what happened to her so that events like these
never happen again.�

Babonneau didn't immediately respond when contacted by PEOPLE for comment.

Per The Times, Dominique's lawyer, B�atrice Zavarro, said Mr. P�ricot was
not contesting the charges and had �always declared himself guilty.�

The publication stated the lawyer insisted the suspect wanted his co-
defendants to "recognize their involvement in his crimes rather than
blaming him."

According to the NYT, some have denied the rape charges, stating they had
Mr. P�ricot's permission, while other men claimed they thought the victim
had "agreed to be drugged."

The outlet stated the victim had no memory of the rapes, but did recognize
one of the men as being a neighbor in town.

While previously speaking to police, Gis�le said her husband, whom she'd
been dating since they were 18, was "caring and considerate," the New York
Times reported.

Their daughter, Caroline Darian, published a book about the case against
her father in 2022, titled And I Stopped Calling You Papa, translated from
French.

�I think of us as happy,� Darian wrote, according to the outlet, adding,
�I thought my parents were.�

Per the NYT, Mr. P�licot is also being investigated in connection to the
rape and murder of a 23-year-old woman dating back to 1991, as well as the
attempted rape of a 19-year-old in 1999.

According to Florence Rault, the lawyer representing the victims in both
cases, the suspect has admitted to attempted rape, but denies any
involvement in the murder.

Rault didn't immediately respond when contacted by PEOPLE.

https://people.com/husband-trial-accused-drugging-wife-inviting-dozens-
men-rape-her-reports-8705353