A man has been accused of repeatedly drugging and raping his wife, besides arranging for several men to rape her for over a decade. The abuse is alleged to have started in 2011.
The trial in the case is going on in France as it has sent shockwaves across the country.
The defendant, named as 71-year-old Dominique P, is accused of arranging strangers online to come to his home and sexually assault the victim—his wife for over a decade.
As per AFP report, the victim was so heavily sedated that she was not aware of the repeat abuse.
The report said police has identified at least 92 rapes committed by 72 men. It added 50 accused, who were identified have been charged and are facing trial alongside the victim’s husband.
Shockingly, the victim aged now, only learnt of the abuse in 2020 after being informed by police, reports said.
The trial will be "a horrible ordeal" for her, as it will be the first time she sees video evidence of the abuse, AFP quoted victim’s lawyer as having said.
"For the first time, she will have to live through the rapes that she endured over 10 years," he told AFP news agency.
How the horrific case came to fore? Reports said the victim’s husband Dominique P who is the main accused in the case was investigated by police after an incident in September 2020, when a security guard caught him secretly filming under the skirts of three women in a shopping centre.
Later, it was found that hundreds of pictures and videos of his wife on his computer in which she appeared to be unconscious, reports mentioned.
The images are alleged to show dozens of assaults in the couple's home, BBC reported.
Besides, it was found by investigators that several chats on a website in which Dominique P allegedly arranged strangers to come to their home and rape his wife.
He admitted to investigators that he gave his wife powerful tranquilisers, including an anxiety-reducing drug, the above report said.
He is accused of taking part in the rapes, filming them and encouraging the other men using degrading language, the report mentioned.
No money is alleged to have changed hands, it mentioned.
Rapists in the case aged between 26 to 74: The accused rapists - aged between 26 and 74 and while most participated once, some took part up to six times, reports said.
In their defence, the accused have reportedly saidthat they were helping a couple live out their fantasies but Dominique P told investigators that everyone was aware his wife had been drugged without her knowledge.
Dominique P said he was raped when he was nine, is ready to face "his family and his wife", AFP reported.
On Monday, the opening day of the trial, the woman turned up to court supported by her three children, the above report said.
The victim’s lawyer has reportedly said she could have opted for a trial behind closed doors, but "that's what her attackers would have wanted".
