Elderly man to face trial for 10-year drugging and rape of wife

The elderly Frenchman, aged 71, has appeared in court for allowing his wife to be drugged and raped over a period of almost a decade. In the Avignon courtroom, the 72-year-old victim, Gisele, was accompanied by her children as she faced the alleged atrocities detailed in court.

Court documents reveal that police identified a total of 92 sexual assaults by 72 men, with 50 of the accused currently facing charges ranging from aggravated rape to attempted rape. The alleged perpetrator, Dominique, also faces multiple charges, including aggravated rape and recording the assaults. The first incidents reportedly began in 2011.

The decade-long series of alleged crimes came to a head in 2020 after Dominique was caught using his phone to film himself under women’s skirts at a shopping mall. A subsequent search of his devices revealed footage of his wife being assaulted, a situation Dominique inadvertently documented by Gisele, which ultimately helped build the prosecution’s case.

(Based on information from the agency.)