Warning: Details in this report may be disturbing to readers.
A woman in France who was raped unconsciously by strange men for more than 10 years has told a court that her husband drugged her to sleep.
The case has rocked France as it involves the serious allegation that a man had his 72-year-old wife raped by multiple strangers.
The 71-year-old suspect, Dominique, is accused of hiring strangers over the internet and inviting them to his home to rape his wife for nearly a decade. He is also accused of raping his wife after getting her drunk.
Giselle Plecott, 72, has given evidence in court against 51 men accused of raping her, including her husband of 50 years, Dominic.
According to documents filed in court, Dominique admitted to police that the unconscious wife had sex with other men for sexual gratification.
Several respondents in the case claim that the rape charge against them is invalid because they believed they were consenting to a ‘sex game’.
However, Giselle told the court that she did not consent to the sex and she never pretended to sleep on purpose.
‘Police asked about my sex life’
Geisel’s legal team said that Geisel did not exercise her right to anonymity because she wanted the ‘shame’ to fall on the accused and not her.
On Thursday, Gisele told the court that she was speaking out for all the women who were ‘drugged unconscious in ignorance’. She also wants that no woman should have to go through such incidents.
The 72-year-old victim came to know about the alleged crimes in 2020 when she was alerted by the police.
Giselle says that during November 2020, the police once asked her to sit with her husband during the interrogation.
At the time, her husband was caught taking pictures of women up their skirts in a supermarket. Giselle told the court she thought the encounter with the police was related to the incident.
The police officer asked me about my sex life,’ she tells the court.
‘I told them I had never done partner swapping or three sims. I said I am a monogamous woman. I cannot bear to be touched by any man other than my husband.’
‘But an hour later the (police) officer said ‘I’m going to show you some things you’re not going to like.’ He opened the folder and showed me a picture.’
“I couldn’t recognize either the man or the woman on the bed,” she says. The officer asked, ‘Madam, is this your bed and bedside table?’
‘It was difficult to recognize myself in this state. Then they showed me the second and third pictures.’
‘I asked them to stop. It was unbearable. I was unconscious on the bed and a man was raping me. The ground gave out under my feet.’
‘We had a happy marriage, we were the perfect couple’
Giselle says that until then their marriage was very happy. She and her husband had faced many health and money problems.
She said she had forgiven her husband for the incident at the supermarket, on the promise that he would not do it again.
He told the court that everything we had built together was ruined. We have three children, seven grandchildren. We used to be the ideal couple.’
‘I wanted to disappear. But I had to tell my children that their father had been arrested. I asked my son-in-law to stay with my daughter when I told him that her father had raped me and had others rape me.’
‘ they shouted at him. That voice is still in my mind.’
In the coming days, more evidence will be submitted to the court in this case. They are about how Dominique allegedly contacted men through ‘sex chat’ websites and invited them to her home.
The police alleged that these men were given strict instructions. They had to park the car at some distance so that no one would notice them. And they had to wait for an hour after the sleeping pills were given so that Gisele would fall asleep.
They further claim that once at home, the men were asked to strip naked in the kitchen and warm their hands with the help of a radiator or hot water. No tobacco or perfume was allowed because it might wake Giselle. Condoms were not required.
There was no money transaction in this case.
According to the investigation, Dominique used to watch these scenes and make videos. He had created a hard drive file containing about 4000 photos and videos. It was a matter of taking pictures of women up their skirts in the supermarket that the police recovered these files from his computer.
Police say they have evidence of nearly 200 rapes from 2011 to 2020. Initially it all happened in the suburbs of Paris and after 2013 in Mezan where they moved.
Investigators allege that her husband himself raped her more than half of the time. Most of the men involved lived a few kilometers away.
‘I have a scene of destruction inside me’
When the judge asked her on Thursday if she could identify any of the accused, Giselle said she could only identify one.
He said that he was our neighbor. He came to check our bikes. I used to see them in the bakery. He was always polite. I did not know that they came to rape me.’
The judge reminded Giselle that some people may be innocent in order to respect the impression that the court decided to use the words ‘sex scene’ instead of ‘rape’.
She replied that ‘I think we have to accept the facts. I feel disgusted when I think about what they have done. They should at least take responsibility for their actions.’
When the truth came out, Giselle also learned that she was suffering from a sexually transmitted disease.
She says, ‘I have no sympathy for any of the accused. One person who was HIV positive came six times. My husband never once worried about my health.’
She is now in the process of divorcing her husband.
After speaking for two hours in front of Dominique and the other accused, he said, ‘I have a scene of destruction inside me. Be strong from the outside. But from inside.’