Wife of Man on Trial for Drugging and Inviting Dozens of Men to Rape Her Says She's Now a 'Heap of Ruins'

Gisèle Pélicot spoke to the court for the first time in Avignon, France on Thursday, Sept. 5

• Dominique Pélicot has been accused of drugging his wife Gisèle and inviting dozens of men to rape her over the course of nearly a decade

• On Thursday, Sept. 5, Gisèle Pélicot took the stand in a French court and said she was "convinced" she had Alzheimer's after she suffered from memory loss amid the abuse

• "I didn’t understand why I had these moments like this," she said, per The Telegraph

A woman in France has said she is a “heap of ruins” after her husband reportedly drugged her and invited dozens of men to rape her for nearly a decade.

On Thursday, Sept. 5, Gisèle Pélicot, 71, took the stand in the Vaucluse Criminal Court in Avignon after the trial of her husband Dominique Pélicot began on Monday, Sept 2.

Her husband, also 71, has been accused of inviting multiple men — including firefighters, masons, gardeners, prison guards, soldiers and journalists, now between the ages of 26 and 73 years old — to have sex with Gisèle while she was unconscious, French paper Le Parisien previously reported.

“When you look at me you think she’s strong, this woman, but inside it’s a heap of ruins. The façade is strong, inside it’s not the same,” she told the court, reported The Telegraph..

While taking to the stand on Thursday, she also told the judge she became “convinced” she had Alzheimer’s after she suffered from memory loss; first in 2011 and then again in 2013.

Related: How Police Allegedly Caught Husband Accused of Drugging Wife and Inviting 83 Men to Rape Her

“I didn’t understand why I had these moments like this,” Gisèle recalled, per The Telegraph.

She said she jokingly asked Dominique at the time whether he was drugging her, but he “broke down in tears,” the outlet stated.

The retired electricity worker, who accompanied his wife of almost 50 years to the doctor's appointment, reportedly told her, “You actually think I could do that?” the paper added.

Amid Gisèle's health concerns, she was said to have been told by a doctor that she may have had a “brain seizure.”

Le Parisien previously stated 51 men were heading to trial, but U.K. newspaper The Times added that authorities believe a total of 92 rapes had been committed by 83 men through the years. According to The Telegraph, "at least 35 defendants have pleaded not guilty and 14 guilty, including Pélicot."

Gisèle was told by police in 2020 that they found thousands of pictures and videos on Dominique’s computer showing his wife in an unconscious state. This came after officers raided the family's home in Mazan, southeast France amid accusations that Dominique had filmed up three women's skirts in a supermarket, The Times previously reported.

Speaking about the incident in court on Thursday, Mrs. Pélicot — who is in the process of divorcing her husband — said he "looked pale and anxious," and "broke down in tears" amid the accusations at the time, per The Telegraph.

“In 50 years, Mr. Pelicot had never taken pictures of other women. I said 'I forgive you, we’ve never had any problems in 50 years. But there won’t be a next time, otherwise I’ll leave,' " she told the court. “He said 'I’m not going to do it again.' I trusted it as our relationship was based on trust for the past 50 years.”

During her court appearance, Gisèle said, per Le Parisien, "The police saved my life by investigating Mr. Pélicot's computer."

The New York Times, citing police, previously stated Dominique would sometimes film the assaults, reporting that authorities found more than 20,000 videos and photographs amid their investigation, with the timeline dating back to 2011.

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On Thursday, Gisèle also admitted to having a two-year affair with a friend after she and Dominique had been married for 14 years, per The Telegraph's live coverage. She said her husband “reacted very badly," per the outlet, adding that she's "only ever had two men in my bed."

Dominique's lawyer, Béatrice Zavarro, previously said her client was not contesting the charges and had “always declared himself guilty," per The Times.

According to the outlet, Gisèle wanted the trial to be public, so she could "raise awareness, as widely as possible, of what happened to her so that events like these never happen again,” one of her lawyers, Stéphane Babonneau, said.

Babonneau didn't immediately respond when contacted by PEOPLE for comment.

If you or someone you know has been sexually assaulted, please contact the National Sexual Assault Hotline at 1-800-656-HOPE (4673) or go to rainn.org.

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