A French woman whose husband is accused of inviting men to rape her testifies in court

AVIGNON, France (AP) — A woman who was allegedly drugged by her now ex-husband so that she could be raped by other men while she was unconscious testified Thursday that her world collapsed when police uncovered the years of alleged abuse.

Speaking in a calm and clear voice, Gisèle Pélicot detailed with impressive composure the horror of discovering that her former spouse had systematically filmed the dozens of suspected rapes — storing thousands of images that police investigators later found.

“It’s unbearable,” she told the court in the southern French city of Avignon in an hour of testimony. "I have so much to say that I don’t always know where to start.”

Dominique Pélicot, now 71, and 50 other men are standing trial on charges of aggravated rape and face up to 20 years in prison. The trial started on Monday and is expected to run until December. Thursday marked the first time that Gisèle Pélicot, also in her 70s, had testified.

The Associated Press doesn’t generally identify victims of sexual crimes. But Gisèle Pélicot’s lawyer, Stéphane Babonneau, said she accepted that her name would be published in the same way that she insisted that the trial be held in public.

She told the court that she hopes her testimony might help spare other women from similar ordeals. She said she pushed for the trial in open court in solidarity with other women who go unrecognized as victims of sexual crimes.

She and her husband of 50 years had three children. When they retired, the couple moved into a house in Mazan, a small town in Provence.

“I thought we were a close couple,” she told the court.

But in late 2020, a security agent caught her husband taking photos of women’s crotches in a supermarket, leading investigators to search Dominique Pélicot's phone and computer. They found thousands of photographs and videos of men appearing to rape Gisèle in their home while she appears to be unconscious.

When police officers called her in for questioning, she initially told them her husband was "a great guy.” But after being confronted with the unfathomable — police showed her some of the images — she left her husband.

“For me, everything collapses,” she testified. “These are scenes of barbarity, of rape.”

She left with two suitcases, “all that was left for me of 50 years of life together.” Since then, she said, “I no longer have an identity. ... I don’t know if I’ll ever rebuild myself.”

Police investigators found communications Dominique Pélicot allegedly sent on a messaging website commonly used by criminals, in which he invited men to sexually abuse his wife. French authorities shut down the website earlier this year.

Crude details of the alleged abuses, which investigators said began in 2011, and of the elaborate system Pélicot put into place over 10 years have emerged during the trial.

Dominique Pélicot told investigators that men invited to the couple's home had to follow certain rules — they could not talk loudly, had to remove their clothes in the kitchen, could not wear perfume nor smell of tobacco.

They sometimes had to wait up to an hour and a half in a nearby parking lot for the drug to take full effect and render Gisèle Pélicot unconscious.

The toxicologist on Thursday spoke of a “cocktail” of medication, a mixture of Temesta and Zolpidem, hypnotic and anxiolytic drugs. A medical expert said that the alleged rapists were not made to wear condoms and that Gisèle Pélicot had contracted four sexually transmitted infections.

“I was sacrificed on the altar of vice," Gisèle Pélicot testified. “They regarded me like a rag doll, like a garbage bag.”

Because Dominique Pélicot videotaped the alleged rapes, police were able to track down — over a period of two years — a majority of the 72 suspects they were seeking.

Besides Pélicot, 50 other men, aged 22 to 70, are standing trial. Several defendants are denying some of the accusations against them, alleging they were manipulated by Pélicot.

Questioned in court, Gisèle Pélicot rejected the argument that any of these men were manipulated or trapped.

“These men entered my home, respected the imposed protocol. They did not rape me with a gun to the head. They raped me in all conscience,” she said. "Why didn’t they go to the police station? Even an anonymous phone call could have saved my life.”

Over the next few months, the defendants will appear in small groups before a panel of five judges, with Pélicot scheduled to speak next week. Psychologists, psychiatrists and computer experts will also testify.

Outside the courthouse, Gisèle Pélicot told reporters she had tried to answer lawyers' questions as best she could, despite the pressure of having all these "individuals" behind her.

“We will have to fight until the end."

Vaux-Montagny reported from Lyon, France.

AP reporters John Leicester and Diane Jeantet contributed to this report from Paris.

Gisele Pelicot, centre left, leaves the Avignon court house with her sons, David, left, Florian, center background and her lawyer Stephane Babonneau, right, in Avignon, southern France, Thursday, Sept. 5, 2024. A woman allegedly drugged by her ex-husband so that she could be raped by other men while she laid unconscious, is expected to testify before a panel of French judges. (AP Photo/Lewis Joly)

Gisele Pelicot speaks to media as she leaves the Avignon court house, southern France, Thursday, Sept. 5, 2024. A woman allegedly drugged by her ex-husband so that she could be raped by other men while she laid unconscious, is expected to testify before a panel of French judges. (AP Photo/Lewis Joly)

Lawyer Beatrice Zavarro walks during the trial of her client, defendant Dominique Pelicot, in the Avignon court house, southern France, Thursday, Sept. 5, 2024. A woman who was allegedly drugged by her now ex-husband so that she could be raped while unconscious by other men is testifying in a court in France about her yearslong ordeal. (AP Photo/Lewis Joly)

The sons of Gisele Pelicot, Florian, right, David, left, and her daughter Caroline Darian, center, arrive in the Avignon court house, southern France, Thursday, Sept. 5, 2024. (AP Photo/Lewis Joly)

Gisele Pelicot, center, arrives in the Avignon court house, in Avignon, southern France, Thursday, Sept. 5, 2024. A woman allegedly drugged by her ex-husband so that she could be raped by other men while she laid unconscious, is expected to testify before a panel of French judges. (AP Photo/Lewis Joly)

Gisele Pelicot arrives in the Avignon court house, in Avignon, southern France, Thursday, Sept. 5, 2024. A woman allegedly drugged by her ex-husband so that she could be raped by other men while she laid unconscious, is expected to testify before a panel of French judges. (AP Photo/Lewis Joly)

Police officers walk in the Avignon court house prior to the trial of Dominique Pelicot, in Avignon, southern France, Thursday, Sept. 5, 2024. A woman allegedly drugged by her ex-husband so that she could be raped by other men while she laid unconscious, is expected to testify before a panel of French judges. (AP Photo/Lewis Joly)

Gisele Pelicot arrives in the Avignon court house, in Avignon, southern France, Thursday, Sept. 5, 2024. A woman allegedly drugged by her ex-husband so that she could be raped by other men while she laid unconscious, is expected to testify before a panel of French judges. (AP Photo/Lewis Joly)

Gisele Pelicot, center, arrives in the Avignon court house, in Avignon, southern France, Thursday, Sept. 5, 2024. A woman allegedly drugged by her ex-husband so that she could be raped by other men while she laid unconscious, is expected to testify before a panel of French judges. (AP Photo/Lewis Joly)

Gisele Pelicot, left, arrives in the Avignon court house, in Avignon, southern France, Thursday, Sept. 5, 2024. A woman allegedly drugged by her ex-husband so that she could be raped by other men while she laid unconscious, is expected to testify before a panel of French judges. (AP Photo/Lewis Joly)

Gunshots were reported in Donald Trump's vicinity Sunday afternoon. The former president is safe.

U.S. Secret Service agents opened fire after seeing a person with a firearm near Trump’s West Palm Beach golf club in Florida while the Republican presidential candidate was golfing. No injuries were reported. Officials say the person fled in an SUV and was later apprehended by local law enforcement.

It was not immediately clear whether the reported shots were targeted at Trump. The U.S. Secret Service said it was investigating and that the incident occurred shortly before 2 p.m. “The former president is safe,” according to the Secret Service.

Roughly two months ago, Trump was shot during an assassination attempt at a rally in Pennsylvania, and a bullet grazed his ear.

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Palm Beach County Sheriff Ric Bradshaw said the gunman was about 400 to 500 yards away from Trump and hidden in shrubbery while the former president played golf on a nearby hole.

The man had an AK-style rifle with a scope, two backpacks hanging on a fence and a GoPro camera, the sheriff said. Bradshaw said the backpacks had ceramic tile in them and that the suspect’s belongings are being processed.

The FBI says it is investigating “what appears to be an attempted assassination” of Donald Trump.

Trump was returned safely after the incident to his private Mar-a-Lago club, where he resides in neighboring Palm Beach, according to a person familiar with the matter.

Trump had returned to Florida this weekend from a West Coast swing that included a Friday night rally in Las Vegas and a Utah fundraiser. His campaign had not advised Trump’s plans for Sunday. He often spends the morning playing golf, before having lunch at the club.

Martin County Sheriff William Snyder told WPTV that the suspect believed connected to the incident “was not armed when we took him out of the car.”

The man had a calm, flat demeanor and showed little emotion when he was stopped by police, Snyder said, saying the suspect did not question why he was being pulled over.

“He never asked, ‘what is this about?’ Obviously, law enforcement with long rifles, blue lights, a lot going on. He never questioned it,” Snyder said.

A man with an AK-style rifle pushed the firearm’s muzzle through the perimeter of Donald Trump’s West Palm Beach, Florida, golf course as the Republican presidential candidate was playing a round, prompting U.S. Secret Service to open fire, according to three law enforcement officials.

The person dropped the weapon and fled in an SUV, and was later apprehended in a neighboring county, the officials said. The officials were not authorized to discuss the ongoing investigation and spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity.

The golf course was partially shut down for Trump as he played, and agents were a few holes ahead of him when they noticed the person with the firearm, the officials said.

An AK-style firearm was recovered at the scene near Trump’s golf course, two law enforcement officials said. The officials were not authorized to discuss the matter publicly and spoke on condition of anonymity about an ongoing investigation.

The golf course was partially shut down for Trump as he played, and agents were a few holes ahead of him when they noticed a person with the firearm, the officials said. The person appeared to push the muzzle of the rifle through a fence line and that’s when agents fired, the officials said.

Law enforcement officials were expected to speak to reporters Sunday afternoon about the incident and the apprehension of the suspect.

In an email to supporters, Trump said: “There were gunshots in my vicinity, but before rumors start spiraling out of control, I wanted you to hear this first: I AM SAFE AND WELL!”

“Nothing will slow me down. I will NEVER SURRENDER!” the former president said.

The Martin County Sheriff’s Office said in a Facebook post on Sunday that it has stopped a vehicle on northbound Interstate 95 and taken a suspect into custody who is believed to be connected to the shooting.

The sheriff’s office said it made the stop after authorities in neighboring Palm Beach County put out a “be on the lookout” alert. Photos included in the post showed an SUV stopped behind multiple law enforcement vehicles.

The post by the Martin County Sheriff’s Office indicated the suspect was apprehended near Palm City, Florida, about a 45-mile drive north of Trump’s golf course. Northbound lanes of I-95 were shut down, the sheriff’s office said.

U.S. Secret Service agents opened fire after seeing a person with a firearm near Donald Trump’s golf club in West Palm Beach, Florida, while the Republican presidential candidate was golfing Sunday, according to two law enforcement officials. No injuries were reported.

The person fled in an SUV and was later apprehended in a nearby county by local law enforcement, the officials said. The officials were not authorized to discuss the matter publicly and spoke on condition of anonymity about an ongoing investigation.

The incident comes roughly two months after an assassination attempt on Trump’s life at a campaign rally in Pennsylvania.

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In an X post, South Carolina Republican Sen. Lindsey Graham, one of Trump’s top congressional allies, said he had spoken with Trump after the incident and that Trump was in “good spirits” and was “one of the strongest people I’ve ever known."

Trump often spends the morning playing golf, before having lunch at the Trump International Golf Club West Palm Beach, one of three he owns in the state.

Donald Trump was safe after gunshots were reported in his vicinity Sunday afternoon in Florida, his campaign and the Secret Service said.

The U.S. Secret Service said it was investigating and that the incident occurred shortly before 2 p.m. “The former president is safe,” according to the Secret Service.

Roughly two months ago, Trump was shot during an assassination attempt at a rally in Pennsylvania, and a bullet grazed his ear.

Trump had returned to Florida this weekend from a West Coast swing that included a Friday night rally in Las Vegas and a Utah fundraiser.

The campaign did not immediately provide any additional details.

No injuries were reported in the shooting incident, a spokesperson for the Palm Beach County Sheriff’s Office in Florida says.

The White House said President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris, the Democratic presidential nominee, had both been briefed and would be kept updated on the investigation. The White House added they are “relieved” to know Trump is safe.

A law enforcement official who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss an ongoing investigation said officials were trying to determine whether the shots were fired near Trump’s West Palm Beach golf course or on the grounds. The official was not authorized to speak publicly and spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity.

FILE - Security agents talk at the entrance to former President Donald Trump's Mar-a-Lago estate, March 31, 2023, in Palm Beach, Fla. (AP Photo/Rebecca Blackwell, File)

Republican presidential nominee former President Donald Trump waves as he boards a plane at Harry Reid International Airport after a campaign trip, Saturday, Sept.14, 2024, in Las Vegas. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)

Sheriff vehicles are pictured near Trump International Golf Club, Sunday. Sept. 15, 2024, in West Palm Beach, Fla., after gunshots were reported in the vicinity of Republican presidential candidate former President Donald Trump. (AP Photo/Stephanie Matat)

Republican presidential nominee former President Donald Trump arrives at Harry Reid International Airport to board a plane after a campaign trip, Saturday, Sept.14, 2024, in Las Vegas. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)

FILE - The motorcade for President Donald Trump arrives at Trump International Golf Club, Feb. 15, 2020, in West Palm Beach, Fla. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon, File)