A French husband sedated his unknowing wife nightly over the course of a decade in their Provence home and invited at least 51 men to rape her. On an internet forum called "à son insu" ("without him/her knowing"), where users discuss engaging in sexual acts on their unaware, and thus non-consensual, partners while frequently under the influence of drugs, the suspect, only known as Dominique P, reportedly made contact with the other males.
Anti-anxiety medication used to drug her
The forum was on a French chat website that has been connected to criminal investigations into the selling of illegal drugs, and pedophilic, racist, or anti-Semitic content, and whose exchanges are deleted after a few hours.
The anti-anxiety medication Témesta (Lorazepam), according to Dominique P, a retired man who has been married to his wife Françoise (not her real first name) for more than 50 years and has three grown children with her, was allegedly slipped into her evening meal prior to his "guests" arriving at their home in Mazan, close to Carpentras.
The 51 men who have been accused of rape and put in custody come from all walks of life and range in age from 26 to 73. They include firefighters, lorry drivers, local council members, bank IT workers, prison guards, nurses, and journalists.
Husband filmed all the atrocious acts
Tobacco and perfume were prohibited to prevent overpowering odours from rousing his wife. The men had to undress in the kitchen to avoid leaving any garments in the bedroom, wash their hands in hot water to prevent a dramatic change in temperature, park near a school, and walk in the dark to the house to avoid raising the suspicion of their neighbours.
He would then painstakingly record and preserve their sexual actions, saving the material to a USB drive with the name "ABUSES" that was found by authorities. Most came back repeatedly. The purported rapes allegedly occurred between 2011 and 2020. One denied it was rape, saying: "It's his wife, he does what he likes with her." Others said they were unaware that his wife was not consenting.
Despite her state, the men continued with the acts
Prosecutors from Avignon told the French publication Le Monde, "He insisted that none of the men who came to his house gave up going through with sexual acts on his wife given her state. He never used violence or threats against anyone so that rapes would be committed. Each individual was in possession of his free will to stop these acts and leave."
As part of a preliminary inquiry into Dominique P recording women in the changing rooms of a nearby supermarket with a hidden camera in 2020, police stumbled found the tape of the abuse.
Wife describes accused as 'a great guy'
She described him as a "great guy" who was "kind and caring" and tried to get her to agree to partner-swapping but she rejected because "she didn't like to be touched without having feelings (for someone)", when the local police requested his wife to speak about her husband. She broke down and attempted suicide after learning about the covert tapes and said, "I was his thing."
She claimed to have flashbacks and that the drugging could account for her persistent weariness and "absent-mindedness" as she pieced together the past. She suffered from inexplicable gynaecological issues. She was discovered to be contaminated with four STDs during subsequent medical exams. She has filed for divorce.
Over 80 people supposedly committed the heinous acts
Meanwhile, Dominique P allegedly informed the investigating magistrates that he still loves his wife and refers to her as "a saint". His attorney, Béatrice Navarro, stated that she was "his first love, indeed the only love of his life." Police have discovered 92 incidences of Françoise being raped by 83 "aggressors," although they have "only" discovered 51 so far.
Should the prosecutor's recommendations be followed by the investigating magistrates, a trial that Le Monde reported would be historic in scope for such a case is anticipated to happen the following year.
