In the southern French city of Avignon, a shocking trial is underway involving Dominique P., a 71-year-old retiree formerly employed by France’s power utility EDF. Dominique P. is charged with orchestrating the rape of his unconscious wife over a decade, a case that has stunned the nation.
Dominique P. allegedly drugged his wife into unconsciousness and recruited dozens of men online to sexually assault her. The trial, which began on Monday, also includes fifty other men accused of participating in the rapes. The victim, now in her 70s and choosing to remain unidentified, has faced a harrowing ordeal, as she will have to relive the abuse she endured, which she only became aware of in 2020.
“For the first time, long after the fact, she will have to live through the rapes that she endured over 10 years,” said Antoine Camus, one of her lawyers. Camus noted that his client had “no recollection” of the abuse, which was only discovered when she found the disturbing evidence in 2020. Despite the option for a closed-door trial, the victim opted to confront her attackers openly. “She is completely determined to face them and her husband, with whom she lived for 50 years but whom she knew nothing about,” her lawyer stated.
The investigation into Dominique P. began in September 2020 after he was caught secretly filming under the skirts of women at a shopping center. Police uncovered thousands of pictures and videos on his computer, showing his wife unconscious and in compromising positions. These images documented 92 instances of rape by 72 men, 51 of whom have been identified.
The abuse allegedly started in 2011 when the couple lived near Paris and continued after they relocated to Mazan, a village near Avignon. Dominique P. confessed to drugging his wife with powerful tranquilizers, including Temesta, to facilitate the rapes. He gave strict instructions to the men to avoid waking his wife, such as prohibiting strong odors and requiring them to undress in another room.
The accused rapists, aged between 21 and 68, come from various professions, including a forklift driver, a fire brigade officer, and a journalist. While some claim they believed they were participating in consensual fantasy play, Dominique P. insists they were all aware his wife was drugged and unaware of the assaults.
The trial, set to continue until December, will examine the extent of the participants’ knowledge and understanding of the situation. Dominique P., who also faces charges for a 1991 rape and murder and a 1999 attempted rape, is described by psychiatric evaluations as a manipulative patriarch with a perverse personality who exploited his wife as “bait.”
