Germany Main defendant confesses to mass abuse of wife

In the trial for the years-long abuse of a woman drugged by her husband by dozens of strange men, the main defendant in the south of France has made a comprehensive confession.

"I am a rapist, like everyone in this room. You (the other defendants) cannot say otherwise," said the 72-year-old in court in Avignon.

"Mr. Chairman, I concede the allegations in their entirety," said the pensioner in his first eagerly awaited statement on the outrageous accusations that have shaken France since the trial began two weeks ago.

The husband is said to have repeatedly drugged his wife, who has since divorced him, over a period of almost ten years. He then allegedly had the woman raped in front of him by strangers with whom he had previously made contact via an online platform. The 50 accused alleged perpetrators and the husband face up to 20 years in prison for the abuse.

His 71-year-old ex-wife Gisèle P. insisted that the trial take place in public and serve as a warning example for women who are drugged and then abused. The main defendant addresses his ex-wife and family during his testimony. "I am guilty for what I did," the pensioner said. "I regret what I have done, I ask for forgiveness, even if it is not excusable".

Filming under skirts exposed main perpetrator

The alleged abuse only came to light when the pensioner was arrested after filming up the skirts of female supermarket customers. During a search, investigators discovered hundreds of videos of the acts on the man's computer.

But what drives a man to commit the crimes he is accused of? In court, the main defendant spoke of having been abused himself in hospital as a child and of having witnessed the abuse of an adopted sister by his father. "You can't say that my life has remained unaffected by this." He was a sex addict and there were two sides to his personality. "I tried in vain to stop, but the addiction was stronger," he says. "I should have stopped much earlier or not started at all."

The impetus to drug and abuse his wife allegedly came from an acquaintance on an internet forum who pretended to be a nurse and gave him the necessary dosage of drugs, the defendant says. A lawyer wants to know from the accused when he became a pervert: "When I met this man in 2011, who showed me things that I thought were impossible and which he made possible."

Pensioner did not collect money from accomplices

The pensioner is not said to have demanded money from the men he invited to his home; according to the indictment, he was interested in satisfying his sexual fantasies. The men had sought contact with him of their own free will and followed his script. "I didn't force anyone, they came themselves."

The sensational court case has long since triggered a nationwide debate in France about sexual violence against women and the problem of the abuse of drugged women. Demonstrations against sexual violence and in solidarity with Gisèle P. took place in several cities at the weekend. Dozens of people also lined the courtroom in Avignon and applauded as the woman left the building.

SDA