Gisèle's husband did the unthinkable to her. She just testified against him.

Content warning: This article includes descriptions of sexual assault.

It's the case that has shocked France and led to protests outside of an Avignon court house.

For 50 years, Dominique and Gisèle Pélicot were married.

But for a decade of their marriage, Gisèle was being raped without her knowledge — drugged and sexually assaulted by dozens and dozens of men. It was all orchestrated by the man who was supposed to love her.

Inside a court room this week, she said: "The police saved my life by investigating."

Leading up to 2020, Gisèle said her health had been on the decline. She was losing hair and weight, and her mind wasn't at all what it used to be. She would often forget whole days, and experience blurry dream-like trances. Her loved ones assumed she had Alzheimer's. But the cause of her cognitive decline and fatigue was far more sinister.

Four years ago, she was summoned to a local police station in southern France. Gisèle was 68 years old when she was told by police what they suspected her husband had been doing to her.

Authorities had identified at least 92 alleged rapes, committed by 72 men against Gisèle.

Listen to The Quicky's coverage of the case here. Post continues below.

Dominique is accused of repeatedly drugging and raping his wife, as well as encouraging dozens of other men to rape her in their home while she was unconscious, court documents show. For years, he had been crushing sleeping pills into her food and drink to put her into unconsciousness. He has since pleaded guilty to these assaults.

Police say the defendant filmed many of the rapes as well, with that footage assisting with the investigation.

Authorities say Dominique would recruit perpetrators via an online chatroom, where members fantasised about performing sexual acts on non-consenting partners.

Dominique told police that he had certain rules for the perpetrators he let into their family home to assault his then-wife. No one was allowed to smoke, wear cologne, and they were told to warm their hands under hot water or on the heater so that they wouldn't risk cold hands bringing her back to consciousness.

Soon after Gisèle was brought into that police room in 2020 and informed of the investigation, her husband was arrested and charged. He has been held in pre-trial detention since that same year.

As for how Dominique had come onto the police's radar, he was caught filming under women's skirts at a local shopping centre. Police seized the man's devices, as well as a USB labelled "abuses" and found evidence of the assaults against Gisèle.

Court records show there were 20,000 images and films found on his devices.

Dominique's lawyer told a press conference outside of court that his client "recognises that he's done what he has done. There was not an ounce of contestation during the whole investigation."

Watch: Gisèle enters the courtroom for her ex-husband and attacker's trial. Post continues below.

He is also facing a separate investigation, accused of the rape and murder of a 23-year-old estate agent in Paris in 1991. Another real estate agent, 19, was attacked in similar circumstances in 1999 but escaped after fighting back. Police have said DNA extracted from blood at the scene matched Dominique's profile.

He is also accused of violating the privacy of his daughter and two daughters-in-law on suspicion of illegally recording, and at times distributing, intimate photos of them.

In court this week, Gisèle, 72, appeared at the opening of the trial. She had sunglasses on, her daughter and two sons right by her side. She has since sought medical advice related to the complications of being drugged on so many occasions.

51 of the men who allegedly took part in the rapes have been identified and charged, and are standing trial alongside her now ex-husband.

For the next several months, Gisèle has opted to sit in the courtroom and come face to face with these alleged perpetrators — most of whom will be complete strangers to her. According to court documents, the men's ages range from 26 to 73. They also range from being a local councillor, a nurse, a journalist, a former police officer, a prison guard, a soldier, a firefighter and a civil servant — many from the local region.

Many of these men are contesting the allegations. Their defence is that they were helping "a couple live out their fantasies" but Dominique told investigators that everyone was aware his wife had been drugged without her knowledge.

At court this week, Gisèle and the rest of those in the room watched some of the footage of her assaults, as per evidence.

"They treat me like a rag doll," she told the panel of five judges, calling the video "barbaric".

"I'm lying motionless on the bed, being raped. Frankly, these are scenes of horror for me. My world is falling apart. For me, everything is falling apart. Everything I have built up over 50 years. Inside, I'm in ruins," she said when giving her evidence.

⚖️ "La honte doit changer de camp": conformément au souhait de la victime, le huis clos a été refusé lundi à Avignon au procès du retraité accusé d'avoir drogué son épouse et recruté des dizaines d'inconnus sur internet pour la violer, pendant dix ans #AFPVertical ⤵️ pic.twitter.com/DueL7Pmvml

— Agence France-Presse (@afpfr) September 2, 2024

"I was sacrificed on the altar of vice," she said. "When you see that woman drugged, mistreated, a dead person on a bed — of course the body is not cold, it's warm, but it's as if I'm dead."

Gisèle's lawyer told Agence France-Presse: "For the first time, she will have to live through the rapes that she endured over 10 years."

The woman has also waived her right to request the trial be held privately.

Initially, Gisèle had requested for her and her ex-husband's last name to be kept private, but since the trial commencing, she has agreed to be fully identified, as per CBS News.

Her lawyer told CNN: "She wants people to know what happened to her and believes that she has no reason to hide. No one can imagine that my client will find any satisfaction in exposing what she has suffered. She wants this hearing to be open so that justice can be done in public."

"She wanted it to be a public trial so that everyone can hear and get an idea of the excuses given by men in such circumstances. Going behind closed doors also means asking my client to be locked in a place with those who attacked her."

Several French doctors and pharmacists are also calling for better training around the issue of chemical submission, as it's known, subduing people using sleeping pills. It should have raised red flags when Dominique ordered as many sleeping pills as he did.

For the next few months, Gisèle will have her children by her side, along with dozens of protestors demonstrating outside the court — wearing black and holding placards in solidarity.

Gisèle's daughter Caroline Darain has also since started a nonprofit association called 'Don't Put Me to Sleep,' aiming to highlight the dangers of drug-facilitated sexual crimes.

Naked images of Darain had been found on Dominique's computer too. Following the revelation in court, Darain walked out in tears.

The family lawyer said: "It was particularly gruelling this morning."

Darian has written a book about her father's crimes and their impact on the family called And I Stopped Calling You Daddy. It has been quoted during court proceedings.

A verdict on the case is due on December 20, 2024.

If this has raised any issues for you, or if you just feel like you need to speak to someone, please call 1800 RESPECT (1800 737 732) – the national sexual assault, domestic and family violence counselling service.

Mamamia is a charity partner of RizeUp Australia, a national organisation that helps women, children and families move on after the devastation of domestic and family violence. Their mission is to deliver life-changing and practical support to these families when they need it most. If you would like to support their mission you can donate here.

This article was originally published on September 4, 2024, and has since been updated with new information.

Feature Image: FRANCE 24/YouTube/Cour d'appel de Nîmes.