This Man Invited 52 Men to Come Over and Have Sex With is Unconscious Wife for Over 10 Years

This is the story of one of the bravest and most courageous women ever.

Gisèle Pélicot and Dominique Pélicot married young and raised three children, enjoying vacations and celebrating milestones as a family. Friends often viewed them as the ideal couple, and Gisèle felt secure in her relationship, believing Dominique to be her great love.

Over time, Gisèle started showing symptoms of Alzheimer’s, so they went to see a neurosurgeon, but nothing came up on scans. However, she tested positive for four different STIs/STDs. Gisèle had never been with anyone else for over 50 years other than her husband, so she blamed her husband. But her husband blamed her, saying she must have forgotten as recently she didn’t even remember getting a haircut the day before.

In September 2020, Dominique was arrested for taking pictures of females underneath their skirts. When police searched Dominique, they found a camera, camcorder, and condoms. When police checked his phone and electronic devices, they found out that he was a member of a private chat room called “Without Her/His Knowing.” In this chat room, people talked about performing sexual acts on their partner without their knowledge. In this group, they discussed how members would give or slip something into their partner’s food or drink so they’d be completely unconscious.

The investigators also found a USB thumb drive connected to Dominique’s computer. When they downloaded it to see what was on it, they found a folder called “ABUSE,” containing more than 20,000 pictures and videos of acts done to Gisèle while she was completely unaware and unconscious. Pictures of Dominique’s two daughters-in-law were also found, along with two photos of his own daughter from when she was around 30 years old. His daughter was unconscious in a bed dressed in her mother’s underwear.

During the interview with Dominique, he admitted his guilt. He said it all started because he wanted to do things with his wife and dress her in a certain way that she wouldn’t agree to. He told investigators this was when he started inviting others to participate. He claimed he never asked for or accepted any money for it; he was doing it “just for fun.”

According to investigators, Dominique allegedly crushed sleeping pills and anti-anxiety medications and mixed them into Gisèle’s dinner or evening wine. Health records show Dominique obtained 450 sleeping pills in one year alone. He would allegedly wait for them to take effect and then invite other men over. He told these men they could not wear cologne, could not smoke (to avoid cigarette smells), and had to undress in the kitchen. He also instructed them to warm their hands under warm water so their cold touch wouldn’t wake Gisèle. He even allegedly told them not to wear protection. It was later revealed that one of these perpetrators was HIV-positive and came over at least six different times.

Investigators also revealed that Dominique had relations with some of the perpetrators, meaning he not only invited them over but also engaged in acts with them.

Given all their findings and Dominique’s admissions, he was rearrested and charged with multiple crimes, including drugging, rape, conspiracy to commit rape, sexual assault, and more. Investigators also charged 51 other men whom they were able to identify and locate. Most of the men were working- and middle-class individuals, many married with children. Some claimed they believed Dominique’s permission made it legal, thinking that marriage justified such actions.

Gisèle said she did not recognize any of these men except one, who was her neighbor.

Dominique, now 71, has admitted his guilt but says he doesn’t believe he did anything wrong. He claims he “saved” his 72-year-old wife from suffering by slipping her these substances. The case went to trial, with the defense requesting a private trial. However, Gisèle’s lawyer objected, as Gisèle wanted the public to know what happened to her. Judges decided the trial would remain public.

The trial is ongoing and expected to conclude in December.

Police also stated that Jean-Pierre Marechal, 63, worked with Dominique to drug and rape Marechal’s wife, Cilia, after meeting on the now-shuttered website.

In 2022, the Pélicots’ daughter, Caroline Darian, published a book about the case titled Et j’ai cessé de t’appeler Papa : Quand la soumission chimique frappe une famille (And I Stopped Calling You Dad: When Chemical Submission Strikes a Family). She also established a non-profit organization called M’endors Pas (Don’t Put Me to Sleep) to raise awareness about drug-facilitated crimes. She filed a civil suit against her father.

After learning of the abuse, Gisèle Pélicot left the marital home with just two suitcases. She divorced her husband and changed her surname.

On November 25, 2024, the prosecution demanded a 20-year sentence for Dominique Pélicot, a 17-year sentence for Marechal, and 10-year sentences for other defendants. Prosecutor Laure Chabaud stated that a 20-year sentence, the maximum for rape under French law, was “both a lot… and too little given the gravity of the acts that were committed and repeated.”