A woman whose now ex-husband allegedly drugged her so she could be raped while unconscious by other men has given evidence in court, saying “they regarded me like a rag doll, like a garbage bag”.
Warning: This story contains details or rape and sexual abuse
In her first time giving evidence at the trial, Gisele P told the court in the southern French city of Avignon how she discovered her former spouse had filmed the suspected rapes by dozens of men.
“For me, everything collapses,” she said. “These are scenes of barbarity, of rape.”
Ms P’s lawyer, Stephane Babonneau, said she wanted her name to be published in the same way she insisted the trial be held in public.
“It’s unbearable,” she said. “I have so much to say that I don’t always know where to start.”
Her former husband, Dominique P, 71, and 50 other men – aged 22 to 70 and including a fireman, journalist and prison guard – are standing trial on charges of aggravated rape. They face up to 20 years in prison if found guilty.
The couple were married for 50 years and had three children. They lived in a small town in Provence after they retired – until her life was torn apart in late 2020.
A security guard caught Dominique P taking photos up women’s skirts in a supermarket, leading investigators to search his phone and computer.
They discovered thousands of photos and videos of men appearing to rape Ms P in their home while she appeared unconscious.
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Gisele P hopes her testimony might help spare other women from similar ordeals. Pic: AP
‘I don’t know if I’ll ever rebuild myself’
Investigators said the abuses began in 2011 and Ms P had no recollection of being raped.
She left her husband after police showed her some of the images, and said since then, “I no longer have an identity… I don’t know if I’ll ever rebuild myself.”
Police found messages Dominique P allegedly sent on a chat room called “without her knowing”, in which he invited men to sexually abuse his wife. The site, which was commonly used by criminals, has since been shut down.
‘Sacrificed on the altar of vice’
During earlier questioning, P told investigators the men he invited to the couple’s home had to follow certain rules, such as not talking loudly and not wearing perfume or smelling of tobacco.
They sometimes had to wait up to an hour and a half parked nearby for the drug to take full effect.
“I was sacrificed on the altar of vice,” Ms P said. “They regarded me like a rag doll, like a garbage bag.”
Ms P told the court she hoped her testimony might help spare other women from similar ordeals.
Majority of 72 suspects tracked down
Police were able to track down a majority of the 72 suspects they were seeking over a period of two years because Dominique P filmed the alleged rapes.
Several defendants have denied some of the accusations against them, alleging they were manipulated by P, or they thought Ms P had pretended to be asleep or had agreed to be drugged.
The defendants will appear in small groups before a panel of five judges over the next few months, with psychologists, psychiatrists and computer experts set to give evidence, and P scheduled to speak next week.
It comes after the court heard on Tuesday how naked photos of the couple’s daughter, who now uses the name Caroline Darian, had been found on a computer in a folder titled “Around my daughter, naked”.
The trial is expected to run until December.