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

Mar. 15, 2025

A French man isaccused of drugging his wife over the span of nearly a decadeand inviting dozens of men to rape her while she was unconscious.

Dominique Pèlicot, 71, is set to go on trial in Avingon, France, along with 50 other men, who he is accused of encouraging to rape his wife, Gisèle, 72, according to reports fromThe New York Times,UK newspaperThe TimesandLe Parisien.

Evidence of the alleged rapes was discovered in 2020 when police seized Dominique’s phones, cameras and electronic devices after he was accused of having filmed up the skirts of three women in supermarkets, according to reports from theNYTandThe Times.

Gisèle Pélicot.Christophe SIMON/AFP/Getty

Christophe SIMON/AFP/Getty

When police searched the devices, they allegedly found 20,000 videos and photographs documenting the assaults, dating back to 2011, theNYTreported.

The Timesreported that Dominique has since admitted to having drugged Gisèle with ground up sleeping pills that he put in her food and drinks.

Dominique’s lawyer, Béatrice Zavarro, toldThe Timesthat her client was not contesting the charges, saying that he has “always declared himself guilty.”

Gisèle Pélicot.CHRISTOPHE SIMON/AFP via Getty

CHRISTOPHE SIMON/AFP via Getty

The outlets reported that the accused husband would allegedly find and recruit the strangers — who ranged from ages 26 to 73 — online and would film some of the assaults.

Dominique and Gisèle, who are getting divorced, have been married for over 40 years and have three children and two grandchildren, perThe Times.

Gisèle has no memory of the attacks and was only informed about the abuse after police discovered it,NYTreported.

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According to her attorney Stéphane Babonneau, Gisèle reportedly wants the trial to be public.

“She wants to raise awareness, as widely as possible, of what happened to her so that events like these never happen again,” Babonneau toldThe Times.

BothThe Timesand theNYTreported that authorities are also investigating Dominique in connection with the 1991 rape and murder of a woman and a 1991 attempted rape.

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 torainn.org.

source: people.com