Husband Slipped Drugs into Wife's Ice Cream Before Inviting Men to Rape Her, Says She's 'Totally Destroyed'

"How could you have brought these strangers into my bedroom?" Gisèle Pelicot said of her husband Dominique as she appeared in court on Wednesday, Oct. 23

<p>CHRISTOPHE SIMON/AFP via Getty</p> Gisèle Pelicot exits the courtroom on Oct. 23, 2024

CHRISTOPHE SIMON/AFP via Getty

Gisèle Pelicot exits the courtroom on Oct. 23, 2024
  • Dominique Pelicot has been accused of drugging his wife Gisèle and inviting dozens of men to rape her over the course of nearly a decade

  • On Wednesday, Oct. 23, Gisèle appeared in court in Avignon, France and said, "I don't know how I can pick myself up from this," per The Guardian

  • The court heard how Dominique would slip drugs to Gisèle's meals or in ice cream he would bring her after dinner while she was in bed

The French woman whose husband is accused of drugging her and inviting dozens of men to rape her over the course of almost a decade has said she has been "totally destroyed" by the allegations.

On Wednesday, Oct. 23, Gisèle Pelicot, 71, appeared in court in Avignon, France, where she spoke about the claims against her husband of 50 years, Dominique Pélicot, also 71. Dominique appeared in court last month, where he confessed to his crimes and admitted, "I am a rapist."

Per The Guardian, 50 other men — whose ages range between 26 and 74 — are on trial. Six of the men accused of raping Mrs. Pelicot while she was unconscious were also in court on Wednesday, according to the outlet.

Gisèle was also asked about Dominique slipping drugs into her meals or in ice cream he would bring her after dinner, according to the The Guardian, Sky News and The Telegraph. Dominique told the court he regularly crushed drugs in his wife's food, including in her favorite dessert — raspberry ice cream, per The Telegraph.

"I used to say to him, 'How lucky am I, you're a darling, you really look after me,' " Gisèle told the trial, per the BBC.

"He made a lot of meals. I saw that as him being attentive," she added, according to The Guardian. "I know that one night he came to collect me at Avignon station after 10 days with my grandchildren. He had already prepared the meal — mashed potato. Two plates were already in the oven. I put olive oil on my potatoes and he put butter, so it was easy to see which plate was his."

<p>AP Photo/Lewis Joly</p> Gisèle Pelicot leaves court on Oct. 16, 2024

AP Photo/Lewis Joly

Gisèle Pelicot leaves court on Oct. 16, 2024

Related: Wife Whose Husband Drugged Her So Dozens of Men Could Rape Her Storms Out of Courtroom

"We would have a glass of white wine together. I never found anything strange about my potatoes. We finished eating. Often when it’s a football match on TV, I’d let him watch it alone. He brought my ice cream to bed, where I was, my favorite flavor, raspberry. And I thought, ‘How lucky I am, he’s a love.’ "

"I never felt my heart flutter. I didn’t feel anything, I must have gone under very quickly," she continued. "I would wake up with my pajamas on. The mornings I must have been more tired than usual, but I walk a lot and thought it was that."

“I am a woman who is totally destroyed, and don’t know how I can pick myself up from this,” she added, per The Guardian.

Last month, Gisèle told the hearing she became “convinced” she had Alzheimer’s after she suffered from memory loss; first in 2011 and then again in 2013.

She didn't find out about the assaults until police told her in 2020 that they'd found pictures and videos on Dominique’s computer, The Times previously reported. The timeline is said to date back to 2011. The findings came amid accusations that Dominique had filmed up three women's skirts in a supermarket.

On Wednesday, Gisèle spoke about her husband — whom she filed for divorce from in 2021 — appearing to be there for her amid the health issues allegedly caused by the drugs he'd been giving her.

<p>Christophe SIMON/getty</p> Gisèle Pelicot attends the trial on Sept. 16, 2024

Christophe SIMON/getty

Gisèle Pelicot attends the trial on Sept. 16, 2024

She told the court, per the BBC, "I am trying to understand how this man, who to me was perfect, could have done this. How can he have betrayed me at this point? How could you let these strangers into my bedroom?"

"I want to say to him: I've always tried to lift you higher, towards the light. You chose the darkest depths of human nature. You're the one who made this choice," she added, according to the outlet.

Gisèle said of her husband taking her to the doctors to get checked out, "He took me to neurologist, to scanners when I was worried. He also went with me to the gynecologist. For me, he was someone I trusted entirely,” per The Guardian.

Gisèle said elsewhere during the trial, "My life has tumbled into nothingness," according to Reuters.

<p>CHRISTOPHE SIMON/AFP via Getty </p> Gisèle Pelicot arrives at court on Oct. 10, 2024

CHRISTOPHE SIMON/AFP via Getty

Gisèle Pelicot arrives at court on Oct. 10, 2024

Related: Wife of Man Who Drugged and Invited Men to Rape Her Thought She Had Alzheimer's Disease Because of Blackouts

The victim said the former couple "had arguments" like "all couples," but insisted her husband didn't behave "like a violent brute," insisting she "wouldn't have stayed 50 years" if he did, The Guardian reported.

The outlet also said Gisèle told the court the underwear she was wearing in the videos of the assaults didn't belong to her.

"The underwear in the videos is not my underwear. What I saw on the videos, it doesn’t belong to me, he must have kept it somewhere but I didn’t know," she said, per the publication.

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Gisèle has chosen to have an open trial so that "all women who (are) victims of rape can say to themselves 'Madame Pelicot did it, we can do it.' I don't want them to feel ashamed anymore," she insisted on Wednesday, per French outlet Le Monde.

"I don't know how I'm going to rebuild myself, how I'm going to get over all this. Fortunately, I have the support of a psychiatrist, but it will take many more years. At nearly 72, I don't know if my life will be long enough to get back on my feet," she added, per the outlet.

The verdict of the trial is expected in late December.

If you or someone you know has been sexually assaulted, please contact the National Sexual Assault Hotline at 1-800-656-HOPE (4673) or go to rainn.org.

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