The French husband who allegedly drugged his wife and invited dozens of strangers to rape her in their home over nearly a decade covered up his depraved crimes by accusing her of cheating on him, prosecutors said.
Dominique Pelicot, 71, is accused of pointing the finger at his wife, Gisele, 72, when she told him she might need medical treatment for unexplained gynecological issues — not realizing it was from the abuse she’d suffered from strangers allegedly lined up by her husband, the Daily Mail reported.
“So, what are you doing with your days?” Pelicot asked accusingly when his spouse reported her fears of a possible sex-related issue.
Pelicot — who allegedly had a sick list of rules for the rapists he invited when his wife was unconscious — then suggested that Gisele had been having affairs while he was out bowling or cycling, prosecutors told his trial.
His attempt to portray his wife as unfaithful emerged as he and 50 other men, between ages 26 and 74, stand trial in the southern city of Avignon over the alleged rape-ring plot.
Prosecutors claim Pelicot recruited the alleged rapists online, invited them to his home and then filmed them sexually assaulting his wife between 2011 and 2020.
Gisele, who waived her right to a closed-door trial, was so heavily sedated with crushed-up sleeping pills that she wasn’t even aware of the abuse that stretched on for a decade, her lawyers said.
Her husband allegedly enforced a sick list of rules on the men to ensure she remained unconscious during the assaults — including banning them from wearing cologne or smoking.
The men also allegedly were made to have neat fingernails, were forced to warm their hands under hot water and made to undress outside the bedroom, the court heard.
They were banned, too, from making noise and were ordered to flee if there was any indication the victim was about to wake.
“I feel dirty, soiled, betrayed. It’s a tsunami, I’ve been hit by a high-speed train,” the wife told the court as the bombshell trial got underway earlier this week.
Police believe the wife was unknowingly raped at least 92 times by at least 72 different men.
Of those, they believe they have identified 50 of them, all of whom face up to 20 years in prison if convicted.
The suspects include a fireman, a prison guard, a nurse and a journalist. Some of the alleged rapists were single, others were married or divorced. While most participated just once, others took part at least six times, prosecutors said.
The case only came to light after a security guard caught Pelicot filming up women’s skirts in a shopping center in September 2020.
During a follow-up probe, cops discovered thousands of photos and videos of Gisele unconscious and being raped at the couple’s home, prosecutors alleged.
Investigators also found chats online of Pelicot recruiting the men, as well as messages where he allegedly admitted giving his wife powerful tranquilizers to knock her out before the abuse took place.
Gisele, who has arrived in court daily flanked by her three children, refused closed-door proceedings because “that’s what her attackers would have wanted,” her lawyer said.
The trial is expected to last until December.
