France Pensioner had woman raped by strangers for years

It is a harrowing abuse trial with a large number of defendants: a pensioner (72) is on trial in Avignon in the south of France with 50 alleged accomplices for allegedly drugging his wife and having her raped by dozens of men.

The defendants are facing up to 20 years in prison for the abuse, which is said to have taken place over a period of around ten years. The now divorced wife appeared in the courtroom accompanied by her three children. She wanted to look the defendants in the eye, her lawyer told TF1.

Defendants from all walks of life

The defendants, 18 of whom are in custody, are men who were between 21 and 68 years old at the time of the crime. They are a colorful cross-section of society - plumbers, drivers, journalists and entrepreneurs are among them - and most of them have had nothing to do with the justice system.

According to the indictment, the pensioner made contact with them via an online platform for sexual contacts. He is not said to have demanded money from the men; according to the information provided, he was interested in satisfying his sexual fantasies.

Most of the accused had admitted to the acts, reported France Info. However, a minority testified that they had not known that the victim had been drugged and that they had thought that the woman was only pretending to be asleep. A defense lawyer representing six of the accused said that the men denied any intention of rape and had assumed that the couple were playing sex games.

The years of abuse only came to light when the pensioner was arrested after being filmed under the skirts of supermarket customers. During a search, investigators discovered hundreds of videos of the acts on the man's computer. According to the videos, 72 men raped the woman, but the police were unable to identify all of them. The woman was even abused on her birthday.

Woman complained of memory lapses and fatigue

The woman was unaware of the years of abuse because her husband had put her under massive medication. However, she had long complained of memory lapses and severe fatigue.

Despite numerous visits to the doctor, the doctors found no connection between her cognitive, neurological and gynecological disorders, probably also because such a crime was not considered possible. Acquaintances of the couple even feared that the woman was suffering from Alzheimer's disease.

When the police informed her of the crimes, it was an "absolutely terrible ordeal", said the pensioner's legal adviser. She has since taken control of her life again with the help of her children and grandchildren, after thinking for a long time that she was suffering from a serious illness.