AVIGNON, France (AP) 鈥 A woman who was allegedly drugged by her now ex-husband so that she could be raped by other men while she was unconscious testified Thursday that her world collapsed when police uncovered the years of alleged abuse.
Speaking in a calm and clear voice, Gis猫le P茅licot detailed with impressive composure the horror of discovering that her former spouse had systematically filmed the dozens of suspected rapes 鈥 storing thousands of images that police investigators later found.
鈥淚t鈥檚 unbearable,鈥 she told the court in the southern French city of Avignon in an hour of testimony. "I have so much to say that I don鈥檛 always know where to start.鈥
Dominique P茅licot, now 71, and 50 other men are standing trial on charges of aggravated rape and face up to 20 years in prison. The trial started on Monday and is expected to run until December. Thursday marked the first time that Gis猫le P茅licot, also in her seventies, had testified.
The Associated Press doesn鈥檛 generally identify victims of sexual crimes. But Gis猫le P茅licot鈥檚 lawyer, St茅phane Babonneau, said she accepted that her name would be published in the same way that she insisted that the trial be held in public.
She told the court that she hopes her testimony might help spare other women from similar ordeals. She said she pushed for the trial in open court in solidarity with other women who go unrecognized as victims of sexual crimes.
She and her husband of 50 years had three children. When they retired, the couple moved into a house in Mazan, a small town in Provence.
鈥淚 thought we were a close couple,鈥 she told the court.
But in late 2020, a security agent caught her husband taking photos of women鈥檚 crotches in a supermarket, leading investigators to search Dominique P茅licot's phone and computer. They found thousands of photographs and videos of men appearing to rape Gis猫le in their home while she appears to be unconscious.
When police officers called her in for questioning, she initially told them her husband was "a great guy.鈥 But after being confronted with the unfathomable 鈥 police showed her some of the images 鈥 she left her husband.
鈥淔or me, everything collapses,鈥 she testified. 鈥淭hese are scenes of barbarity, of rape.鈥
She left with two suitcases, 鈥渁ll that was left for me of 50 years of life together.鈥 Since then, she said, 鈥淚 no longer have an identity. ... I don鈥檛 know if I鈥檒l ever rebuild myself.鈥
Police investigators found communications Dominique P茅licot allegedly sent on a messaging website commonly used by criminals, in which he invited men to sexually abuse his wife. French authorities shut down the website earlier this year.
Crude details of the alleged abuses, which investigators said began in 2011, and of the elaborate system P茅licot put into place over 10 years have emerged during the trial.
Dominique P茅licot told investigators that men invited to the couple's home had to follow certain rules 鈥 they could not talk loudly, had to remove their clothes in the kitchen, could not wear perfume nor smell of tobacco.
They sometimes had to wait up to an hour and a half on a nearby parking lot for the drug to take full effect and render Gis猫le P茅licot unconscious.
The toxicologist on Thursday spoke of a 鈥渃ocktail鈥 of medication, a mixture of Temesta and Zolpidem, hypnotic and anxiolytic drugs. A medical expert said that the alleged rapists were not made to wear condoms and that Gis猫le P茅licot had contracted four sexually transmitted infections.
鈥淚 was sacrificed on the altar of vice," Gis猫le P茅licot testified. 鈥淭hey regarded me like a rag doll, like a garbage bag.鈥
Because Dominique P茅licot videotaped the alleged rapes, police were able to track down 鈥 over a period of two years 鈥 a majority of the 72 suspects they were seeking.
Besides P茅licot, 50 other men, aged 22 to 70, are standing trial. Several defendants are denying some of the accusations against them, alleging they were manipulated by P茅licot.
Questioned in court, Gis猫le P茅licot rejected the argument that any of these men were manipulated or trapped.
鈥淭hese men entered my home, respected the imposed protocol. They did not rape me with a gun to the head. They raped me in all conscience,鈥 she said. "Why didn鈥檛 they go to the police station? Even an anonymous phone call could have saved my life.鈥
Over the next few months, the defendants will appear in small groups before a panel of five judges, with P茅licot scheduled to speak next week. Psychologists, psychiatrists and computer experts will also testify.
Outside the court house, Gis猫le P茅licot told reporters she had tried to answer lawyers' questions as best she could, despite the pressure of having all these "individuals" behind her.
鈥淲e will have to fight until the end."
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Vaux-Montagny reported from Lyon, France.
AP reporters John Leicester and Diane Jeantet contributed to this report from Paris.
