THE French pensioner accused of recruiting men to rape his drugged wife compiled a folder named “abuse” featuring thousands of sick pictures and videos, prosecutors say.
And within the dossier were sub-folders dedicated to each man who allegedly came along to take part in the horror, investigators said.
Prosecutor Jeremie Bosse Platiere said retiree Dominique Pelicot, 71, named all the files within the “abuse” folder based on nicknames for each of the men, like “Chris the fireman”, “Quentin”, “Gaston” and “David the Black”.
Dominique faces up to 20 years in prison if found guilty following his trial at Vaucluse Criminal Court in Avignon.
Between 2011-2020, Dominque would sneak sleeping pills into his wife’s drinks and food, putting her into a deep sleep before raping her, investigators said.
He is accused of inviting more than 70 men to do the same, mainly at the couple’s home in Mazan, southeast France.
So far Dominique and 50 other male defendants have been charged with “aggravated rape” following multiple videoed attacks on Gisèle Pélicot, 72.
Their ages range between 26 and 74 and they’re sat in the dock along with Dominique as the Avignon trial continues.
According to French reports, the “abuse” file contains nearly 3,800 pictures and videos.
The revelation was aired on day three of the trial, where Bosse Platiere told of how investigators probed phone bills, pictures and videos, also using facial recognition technology to identify the suspects.
He said cops drew up a list of 72 men suspected of sexually abusing Gisele.
They tallied 200 instances of rape, many of them by Dominique himself and more than 90 from strangers recruited on a twisted adult website.
Cops are keeping 18 of the 51 accused men detained, with others at the trial as free men, according to AFP.
They initially identified 54 suspects, but one is now dead and the other two eluded trial amid a lack of evidence.
Dominique’s sick methods were exposed when he was caught trying to film up women’s skirts at a supermarket.
His decade-long abuse of his wife was then uncovered.
Police have said Gisele never appeared awake or aware in any of the footage, aside from the odd snore or groaning sound.
Bosse Platiere said: “On no video does Madame P. appear conscious or make any gesture.”
BY Juliana Cruz Lima, Foreign News Reporter
FRENCH pensioner Dominique Pélicot is on trial accused of drugging his wife and allowing 72 strangers to rape her.
The 71-year-old allegedly invited the men he met online to assault his wife Gisele Pélicot, 72, after slipping Lorazepam into her food to knock her out.
He is said to have then filmed the horrid attacks over nine years between 2011 and 2020.
After being married for two years since meeting in 1971, the pair went on to have three children together.
When the family moved to Mazan two years later, the horrific campaign of alleged sexual abuse directed by Pélicot is believed to have started in 2011 while they were residing close to Paris.
Cops launched an investigation When a security officer discovered the pensioner secretly recording three women’s skirts in a shopping centre in September 2020.
On his computer, hundreds of images and videos of his wife—mostly in the foetal position and clearly unconscious—were discovered, according to the police.
The pictures allegedly depicted numerous rapes that took place at the couple’s house in Mazan, a 6,000-person hamlet in Provence some 20 miles from Avignon.
Investigators also discovered talks on a website called coco.fr, which the police have since taken down, where he allegedly invited strangers to his house so he could have sex with his wife.
Investigators were then informed by Pélicot that he had given his wife strong tranquillizers, including the anxiety-relieving medication Temesta.
Prosecutors claim that the husband participated in the rapes, recorded them, and used degrading language to encourage the other men.
He described at earlier hearings the many measures he used to keep his wife and family from learning of his terrible activities.
Dominique Pélicot is also accused of a 1991 murder and rape, both of which he denies, and a 1999 attempted rape, which he acknowledged following DNA testing.
Although examinations published in court documents reportedly found that the man had a need to feel ‘all-powerful’ over the female body, experts said the man did not appear to be mentally ill.
The shocking trial is due to last until December 20.
Alleged victim Gisele asked for the trial to be held in opened court so the world could see what had been done to her, one of her lawyers told The Washington Post.
She is coming face to face with her husband and the 50 other suspects in court.
Dominique is not disputing the cops’ grave account of what took place.
His lawyer said he was “ashamed”, according to French newspaper Le Monde.
Béatrice Zavarro said Monday: “He recognises what he did and there has not been an ounce of protest since the beginning.”
Dominique has indicated each of the men were aware that his wife was drugged and not conscious, Le Monde reported.
Some of the accused have claimed they were under the impression that they were simply helping the couple live out a fantasy, rather than knowingly raping Gisele.
Dominique is accused of presenting the men with a sick of list of rules to follow once they accepted his invitation so they didn’t wake his wife.
These included no aftershave or cigarette odour, while all men had to have neat and clipped nails.
After parking a few minutes from the couple’s home, the alleged attackers would undress in the kitchen so they would not accidentally leave clothes behind in the bedroom.
It is understood that Dominique did not want the men to leave clothing behind as that would rouse his wife’s suspicion about the horrific abuse she was allegedly suffering.
The trial is expected to go on for months.
Women’s Aid has this advice for victims and their families:
If you are a victim of domestic abuse, SupportLine is open Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday from 6pm to 8pm on 01708 765200. The charity’s email support service is open weekdays and weekends during the crisis – messageinfo@supportline.org.uk.
Women’s Aid provides a live chat service – available weekdays from 8am-6pm and weekends 10am-6pm.
You can also call the freephone 24-hour National Domestic Abuse Helpline on 0808 2000 247.
