 "Nudes of daughter, lurid chats: Inside the shocking trial of French man accused of inviting 50 men to rape wife")
Amid the political uncertainty in France, there’s another matter that has the French saying: Quelle horreur! Harrowing details are emerging from the trial of a 71-year-old pensioner in Avignon, who drugged his wife and invited more than 50 strangers to rape her over 100 times for the last 10 years.
On Tuesday, as the trial against the septuagenarian, Dominique P, proceeded more disturbing details of his crimes emerged which included the messages he wrote to men to invite them to sexually abuse his wife Gisele as well as photographing his daughter naked after drugging her too.
The trial in the southern city of Avignon, which is due to conclude in December, also involves 50 men, recruited online, who are accused of participating in these acts.
Here’s what has emerged from the trial so far.
(Please note the report contains details that readers may find distressing)
Case against Dominique P
As per investigations, Dominique had been crushing sleeping pills into his wife’s food and drink to put her into a deep sleep, and then raping her. He also ushered dozens of men into the home to film them raping her, too, said the police, in abuse that lasted nearly a decade.
The wife, Gisele, had no knowledge of her husband’s actions and when informed of them expressed deep shock and horror. She and her husband had been together since they were 18. She had described him to the police as caring and considerate. She had no memory of being raped, by him or any other men.
Impact Shorts
More ShortsAccording to her lawyers she was so heavily sedated, she was not aware of the abuse that went on for around a decade between 2011 and 2020.
Police have identified at least 92 sexual assaults committed by 72 men, with ages ranging from 26 to 74, court documents reveal. Fifty have been identified, and most have been charged with either aggravated or attempted rape and are standing trial alongside Gisèle’s husband.
According to the police, the crimes only came to light in 2020 when Dominique was caught filming under women’s skirts in a shopping centre. After police seized his phone and computer, they found evidence of the rapes. An investigation was opened and the wife was made aware of the abuse she had endured for almost 10 years.
Drugged his daughter too
On Tuesday, in court, it also emerged that Dominique was not only abusing his wife, but also his daughter. The judge in the court revealed that the 71-year-old was also drugging his daughter, Caroline Darian, and taking nude photographs of her.
The judge said that when the police sifted through Dominique’s computer files, they stumbled across a sickening folder labelled ‘Around My Daughter Naked’. The judge added that as he did with his wife, he rendered Caroline unconscious with tranquilisers before lying her on a bed - partially dressed in her mother’s clothes - and photographed her. The pictures had been taken at the family home near Paris, sometime before they moved south to Provence, in 2013.
When the judge began reading out the details of the daughter’s photographs, Caroline, who was in court with her mother, collapsed in tears, and left the court building for around 20 minutes.
She has penned a book And I stopped calling you Daddy which revolves around the case in which she writes that she was ‘haunted by the fear’ that her father may have invited men to rape her too, adding: “I’m convinced I was drugged, but he’ll never admit it.”
‘You’re like me - you like rape mode’
The court also revealed that Dominique sent a barrage of depraved messages to over 50 men — such as “You’re like me - you like rape mode” — when he invited them to sexually abuse his wife.
Investigations reveal that he met most of the men in a chat room called “a son insu,” which means “without their knowledge” on an unmoderated French website, which was shut down after its owner was arrested in June.
It was also revealed that Dominique imposed strict rules on each of the men he invited to rape his wife: Park nearby and walk to the house; do not wear perfume, smoke or drink; cut and clean nails; run hands under hot water before touching her skin; and withdraw at the slightest sign that she could be disturbed.
They were also instructed to undress in the kitchen, so they didn’t leave behind clothing which could make his wife suspicious.
The other ‘rapists’
Besides Dominique, 51 other men have also been identified and put on trial in the case. At least 35 of the defendants have pleaded not guilty and 14 guilty, including Dominique. While one defendant is absent, another is on the run, reports The Telegraph.
The men, aged between 26 and 74, come from all walks of life; one has been identified as a forklift driver, another as a fire brigade officer, a third as a company boss and a journalist. Some are single, others are married or divorced, and some are family men.
For many of the accused, they don’t believe they did anything wrong other than play-act in a couple’s fantasy. One was quoted saying they believed it was all ‘a couple’s game’, while another said that “the relationship had to take place at night in complete darkness because the woman was shy and hung up despite her desire. She would pretend to be asleep”.
Another accused claimed that because the husband was around during the time, “there was no rape”.
Implications of the case
The case comes at a crucial time for France, which is at a crossroads when it comes to the definition of rape. As per law, rape is defined as an “act of sexual penetration” committed “by violence, coercion, threat or surprise.”
However, a number of lawmakers want to amend the word to include that sex without consent is rape, that consent can be withdrawn at any time, and that consent cannot exist if sexual assault is committed “by abusing a state impairing the judgment of another.”
It also casts light on the use of drugs in rapes. In fact, Dominique’s daughter has started an awareness campaign called “M’endors Pas,” meaning “Don’t put me to sleep” on drug-facilitated sexual assault.
With inputs from agencies
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