Man accused of raping French woman who was drugged by her husband says he thought ‘it was a game’

Dominique Pelicot has been accused of drugging his wife Gisèle Pelicot and inducing dozens of men to rape her between 2011 and 2020.

• According to the British newspaper, the man, whose name was only given as Lionel R., appeared in court in Avignon, France, on Thursday, September 19, and claimed that Dominique Pelicot told him that his wife Gisèle liked to have sex with other men while under the influence of sedatives. Times

• Dominique, 71, is accused of drugging his 72-year-old wife and persuading dozens of men to rape her over the course of almost a decade.

• “I never imagined she wouldn’t be part of the game,” Lionel told the court, according to a source.

One of dozens of men accused of raping a woman who was drugged by her husband told a court he thought he was taking part in a “game.”

The man, identified only as Lionel R., a grocery store worker and father of three, was the first defendant to testify in the mass rape trial and admitted in a court in Avignon, France, that he raped Gisèle Pelicot in 2018 but said he did not intend to do so, according to French news outlet France 24 and British newspapers. Times AND The guard.

Dominique Pelicot admitted to his crimes earlier this week after being accused of drugging his wife Gisèle, 72, for nearly a decade and having dozens of men rape her. Authorities say Gisèle was raped by 83 different men and assaulted at least 92 times, Times reported earlier.

Lionel, 44, told the court on Thursday, September 19, that Dominique, 71, told him that his wife liked to have sex with other men when she was sedated.

Related: Man who drugged wife and urged men to rape her hospitalized on day he was supposed to appear in court

Dominique told the court, according to France 24, “He tells me he’s in a relationship, he makes me a rather unusual sexual offer with his wife, he tells me she’s going to sleep, he talks to me about sleeping pills, he tells me she’s taking them or that he’s giving them to her, it’s not clear. I don’t ask too many questions, I was convinced it was a game at the time.”

“There was talk of medication. Sometimes she was taking it, sometimes he was giving it to her,” Lionel added, according to Times AND The guard“I never imagined she wouldn’t be a part of this game… My biggest mistake was not making sure she was aware and consenting.”

For TimesLionel told the court he was invited to the couple’s home in Mazan, near Avignon, and had sex with Dominique’s wife for 30 minutes on his orders. However, he claimed that when Gisèle started moving, Dominique “told me to leave the room and that’s when I realised something was wrong,” Lionel said.

“Since I never obtained Ms. Pelicot’s consent, I have no choice but to accept the facts,” he continued, according to the source. “When I got in the car that day, I didn’t say to myself, ‘I’m going to rape this woman.’”

Apologizing to Gisèle, Lionel added: “I’m sorry, I can only imagine the nightmare you went through… and I am part of that nightmare.”

Related: Wife of man accused of drugging and raping dozens of men says she’s now ‘a pile of rubble’

On Tuesday, September 17, Dominique appeared in court and in his first statement said: “I am a rapist, like the others in this room,” the BBC, France 24 and French media reported. Parisian.

As the BBC reported on September 17, 15 of the 50 defendants in the trial admitted to rape, while most claimed only that they participated in the sex acts.

“They all knew, they can’t say otherwise,” Dominique told the court, according to the source.

“Everyone knew what condition he was in before they arrived, they knew everything, they can’t say otherwise,” Dominique added, according to Parisian.

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“Even if it’s paradoxical, I never treated my wife as an object. Unfortunately, the recordings show the opposite,” he said, according to the website, adding that he regretted what he did.

The alleged acts occurred between 2011 and 2020.

As previously reported by PEOPLE magazine, Gisèle was unaware of the abuse until police discovered thousands of photos and videos on her husband’s computer in 2020. The magazine reports TimesThe revelation comes amid allegations that Dominique filmed herself up the skirts of three women in a grocery store.

If you or someone you know has been a victim of sexual assault, contact the National Sexual Assault Hotline at 1-800-656-HOPE (4673) or go to rainn.org.

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Read the original article on People.