Dominic Pelicot, the French man who allegedly drugged his wife and invited 72 men to rape her over a decade, was hauled to court on Sep. 10 (local time).

Having pleaded guilty, a tearful Pelicot testified in front of the court and his 72-year-old ex-wife Gisele, reported The New York Times.

He stated his regret and asked for forgiveness, "even if it's unforgivable".

"She didn't deserve this, I recognise that," the 71-year-old said.

He claimed he had "nothing but love" for his wife, but had been powerless in the face of a sexual addiction.

The case, which was made public on Gisele's insistence, has shaken the whole of France.

"I am a rapist"

A total of 51 of the men who Pelicot had invited to rape his then-wife also stood trial.

"Today I maintain that I am a rapist, like those in this room," said Pelicot.

The rest of the men were aged between 26 and 74.

They included truck drivers, military personnel, a nurse, an IT specialist, and a journalist, who allegedly visited the retired couple’s house in Mazan and took advantage of an unconscious Gisele.

Several were accused of raping her repeatedly.

While some admitted guilt, others claimed they had been under the impression that they were participating in a sexual threesome involving consenting adults.

"They all knew her condition before they came; they knew everything. They cannot say otherwise," Pelicot stated.

"They came looking for me. I was asked, I said yes. They accepted, they came. I did not handcuff anybody to make them come to my place."

If convicted, most of the men face up to 20 years in jail for aggravated rape.

One man has pleaded guilty for drugging his own wife to rape her and inviting Pelicot to their home to rape her while she was drugged.

Childhood trauma

Pelicot attributed his "perversion" to childhood trauma.

NYT reported that when he was nine, Pelicot was admitted to a hospital for a head injury, where he was sexually assaulted by a nurse.

He claimed Gisele had rescued him from the terror of that incident.

Pelicot further revealed that he had been forced to watch a gang rape while working on a construction site as a teenager.

"I’m not looking for excuses, but these are the facts," he voiced.

Never touched his daughter

Naked photomontages of Pelicot and Gisele's daughter had also been found on his computer.

Pelicot told the court that he had not taken the photographs and did not think they were of his daughter.

"You are lying," his daughter shouted from the other side of the courtroom.

"I don’t know how to tell you, I never touched my daughter,” Pelicot insisted.

Part pleasure, part insurance

Upon searching Pelicot's personal devices, the police had discovered over 20,000 videos and photos of the men raping Gisele.

Many of them had been sorted into a folder titled "abuse".

Police viewing the tapes had counted 92 rapes committed by 72 men.

When questioned why he had taken the videos and titled them as such, Pelicot replied: "Part pleasure but also, part insurance. Because of that, we could find all those who participated."

"I had total trust in this man"

Gisele described Pelicot as the love of her life.

They met when they were 19, eventually getting married and having three children and seven grandchildren.

They had been married for over 50 years.

Gisele has since divorced Pelicot and given up his surname.

Witnessing her husband recount the horrific things he had done to her, that she had no memory of, the woman said it was all difficult to hear.

She said she "could never have imagined for a single second" that her then-husband could commit these acts of rape.

"I had total trust in this man," she said.

Although she was entitled under local law to remain anonymous, Gisele decided to make the case public, according to the NYT.

She hoped her case would help other victims of drugging and abuse.

Gisele herself has become a feminist icon and an inspirational figure for sexual assault survivors in France.

"Look around you," she said in a message to victims of sexual violence. "You are not alone.”

Top photos via GossipRoomOff/X