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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

On Thursday, Sept. 5, Gis�le P�licot took the stand in a French court and
said she was "convinced" she had Alzheimer's after she suffered from
memory loss amid the abuse

"I didn�t understand why I had these moments like this," she said, per The
Telegraph

A woman in France has said she is a �heap of ruins� after her husband
reportedly drugged her and invited dozens of men to rape her for nearly a
decade.

On Thursday, Sept. 5, Gis�le P�licot, 71, took the stand in the Vaucluse
Criminal Court in Avignon after the trial of her husband Dominique P�licot
began on Monday, Sept 2.

Her husband, also 71, has been 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 Gis�le while she was unconscious, French paper Le Parisien previously
reported.

�When you look at me you think she�s strong, this woman, but inside it�s a
heap of ruins. The fa�ade is strong, inside it�s not the same,� she told
the court, reported The Telegraph..

While taking to the stand on Thursday, she also told the judge she became
�convinced� she had Alzheimer�s after she suffered from memory loss; first
in 2011 and then again in 2013.

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�I didn�t understand why I had these moments like this,� Gis�le recalled,
per The Telegraph.

She said she jokingly asked Dominique at the time whether he was drugging
her, but he �broke down in tears,� the outlet stated.

The retired electricity worker, who accompanied his wife of almost 50
years to the doctor's appointment, reportedly told her, �You actually
think I could do that?� the paper added.

Amid Gis�le's health concerns, she was said to have been told by a doctor
that she may have had a �brain seizure.�

Le Parisien previously stated 51 men were heading to trial, but U.K.
newspaper The Times added that authorities believe a total of 92 rapes had
been committed by 83 men through the years. According to The Telegraph,
"at least 35 defendants have pleaded not guilty and 14 guilty, including
P�licot."

Gis�le was told by police in 2020 that they found thousands of pictures
and videos on Dominique�s computer showing his wife in an unconscious
state. This came after officers raided the family's home in Mazan,
southeast France amid accusations that Dominique had filmed up three
women's skirts in a supermarket, The Times previously reported.

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Speaking about the incident in court on Thursday, Mrs. P�licot � who is in
the process of divorcing her husband � said he "looked pale and anxious,"
and "broke down in tears" amid the accusations at the time, per The
Telegraph.

�In 50 years, Mr. Pelicot had never taken pictures of other women. I said
'I forgive you, we�ve never had any problems in 50 years. But there won�t
be a next time, otherwise I�ll leave,' " she told the court. �He said 'I�m
not going to do it again.' I trusted it as our relationship was based on
trust for the past 50 years.�

During her court appearance, Gis�le said, per Le Parisien, "The police
saved my life by investigating Mr. P�licot's computer."

The New York Times, citing police, previously stated Dominique would
sometimes film the assaults, reporting that authorities found more than
20,000 videos and photographs amid their investigation, with the timeline
dating back to 2011.

On Thursday, Gis�le also admitted to having a two-year affair with a
friend after she and Dominique had been married for 14 years, per The
Telegraph's live coverage. She said her husband �reacted very badly," per
the outlet, adding that she's "only ever had two men in my bed."

Dominique's lawyer, B�atrice Zavarro, previously said her client was not
contesting the charges and had �always declared himself guilty," per The
Times.

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

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

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