Woman Raped 90 Times With Her Husband's Knowledge, Thought She Had Cancer

A trial has begun in France against a man who set up his wife for rapists for years by drugging her.

The woman suffered sexual violence more than ninety times without knowing it. The incidents had a serious impact on her health, and she thought she had cancer.

In court, Giselle Pelico, 72, insisted that the media use her full name, despite the common practice of not publicizing the names of victims of sexual abuse, writes The Washington Post. She also wanted the court hearings to be open, explaining her position by her desire tell the world about such crimes.

After the first session, which was attended not only by the victim’s husband, but also by 50 suspects, whose identities were established by law enforcement officers, new details of the case became known.

Between 2011 and 2022, the accused committed more than 90 acts of sexual violence against Gisele, who was unconscious due to the drugs the man gave her. Her husband, Dominic Pelico, 71, did not deny any of the facts examined by the court during the first hearing, according to Gisèle's lawyer Stephane Babono. And his lawyer, Beatriz Zavarro, said her client was “ashamed of what he did” and had “not objected to the investigation” from the beginning.

How writes French newspaper Le Monde, Dominique stated that all the men knew about the effects of the drugs he secretly gave his wife. According to the investigation, the man set strict “rules” by which he allowed strangers to rape his wife. Rapists were forbidden, for example, from “smelling” of perfume or “smelling of smoke” – the strong smell could wake Giselle. Dominic also did not allow men to use condoms.

Some the accused tried to justify themselves: They allegedly believed the French couple were swingers and that the acts of violence were “the embodiment of sexual fantasies to which Gisele had consented.” However, the court decided that these allegations were not sufficiently substantiated, the victim's lawyer said.

In 2020, police caught Dominic trying to secretly film upskirt videos of women in a shopping mall. During a search, law enforcement officers found hundreds of photographs and videos of his wife being raped by other men. Between 2011 and 2022, the investigation found, the husband used the Internet to find strangers and invite them to his home. He gave his wife drugs that rendered her unconscious during the crimes.

Stefan Babono says that when police told Gisele about Dominic's rape allegations, she “expressed complete incomprehension.” The woman could not even believe that it was she in the numerous videos and that she was the victim.

Gisele claims she didn't know about the repeated rapes, but experienced alarming symptoms: memory loss, hair problems, cervical inflammation and abdominal pain. She believed that these signs could indicate cancer.

The investigation found at least 92 cases of rape committed by 72 different men. Most of them took part in rape only once, but some did it up to six times. Of these, fifty identifiedand now they will stand trial along with Dominic.

Gisele's abuse left behind at least four sexually transmitted diseases, as well as other physical and psychological effects.

Stefan Babono says his client hopes that The case will help raise awareness about the practice of drugging people without their consent, human trafficking and rape.

The trial will last until December 20. During the hearing, a demonstration (pictured above) took place outside the courthouse in Avignon, France, against the man who drugged his wife for nearly 10 years and incited men to rape her.

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