Gis�le P�licot testified Thursday against ex-husband Dominique P�licot,
who has admitted to drugging her and inviting other men to rape her over
the course of a decade

The ex-wife of a French man who admitted to drugging her and allowing
dozens of men to rape her over the course of a decade says she became
�convinced� at one point that she had Alzheimer�s disease because of the
substantial memory loss she was experiencing throughout the abuse.

Gis�le P�licot, 71, took to the stand on Thursday, Sept. 5, in the
Vaucluse Criminal Court in Avignon to testify in the trial of her ex-
husband Dominique P�licot.

The suspect, also 71, has admitted to inviting 83 men � including
firefighters, masons, gardeners, prison guards, soldiers and journalists,
now between the ages of 26 and 73 years old � to sexually assault Gis�le
while she was unconscious, French paper Le Parisien previously reported.

During her testimony, Gis�le recounted her confusion when she began to
experience �total blackouts,� starting in 2011. The retired Mazan, France,
native told the courtroom Thursday that around 2013 she began to feel
worse: she started to lose her hair, lost weight and continued to have
memory lapses at different parts of the day.

The blackouts became so concerning that she decided to stop driving, she
explained in court.

�I didn�t understand why I had these moments like this,� Gis�le recalled
in court, according to The Telegraph.

Husband's Case Goes to Trial as He's Accused of Drugging His Wife and
Inviting Dozens of Men to Rape Her: Reports

According to The New York Times, she told the court: �I was persuaded I
had the beginnings of Alzheimer�s or a brain tumor.�

Her then-husband of almost 50 years, a retired electricity worker, drove
her to her doctor's appointments as she searched for answers.

How Police Allegedly Caught Husband Accused of Drugging Wife and Inviting
83 Men to Rape Her

�I could not have imagined for a single second that I had been drugged,�
Gis�le said.

But in 2020, Gis�le was alerted to the truth when French police told her
they had allegedly found thousands of pictures and videos on her husband
Dominique�s computer that showed her unconscious. Police had raided her
and Dominique�s home after he was accused of attempting to film up several
women�s skirts at a local grocery store, The Times reported.

https://people.com/thmb/w6VFqvxjSHKVa5wvGNIAwlxsvCo=/4000x0/filters:no_ups
cale():max_bytes(150000):strip_icc():focal(749x0:751x2):format(webp)/Gisel
e-Pelicot-tout-1-090624-7e01cbb8652a41dfab9922ad55e90ad0.jpg

According to The Times, French laws allow for women to seek justice for
such alleged crimes in private instead of a trial playing out in public.
However, Gis�le reportedly told the courtroom Thursday that she wanted her
ex-husband to stand trial in public.

Gis�le has also kept her former husband Dominique�s last name, P�licot,
for the trial, with plans to change back to her maiden name after it�s
finished, The Times reported.

According to The Times, she told the court she believed it was important
for other women to hear her story.

�So when other women, if they wake up with no memory, they might remember
the testimony of Ms. Pelicot,� Gis�le said, according to the newspaper.
�No woman should suffer from being drugged and victimized.�

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

Dominique has pleaded guilty to the charges against him, according to The
Times.

According to The Telegraph, 14 of the other defendants have pleaded guilty
and at least 35 have pleaded not guilty.

The Times reported that Gis�le � who says she no longer experiences
blackouts � appeared defiant and calm while testifying in court,
addressing the rapes.

�We must address this scourge,� she said.

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

https://people.com/dominique-pelicot-wife-testifies-alzheimers-blackouts-
8707513