Sex is an integral part of marriage, serving as a way for couples to connect emotionally and physically. It can enhance intimacy, strengthen the bond between partners, and contribute to a healthy relationship.
But despite playing a viral role in marital satisfaction and overall well-being. the significance of sex may vary for each couple. And how it's practiced can also vary from one to another.
Some men, for example, love cuckolding, a term to refer to being aroused by witnessing their wives having sex with other men.
But one man in France went too far.
It's reported that he invited more than 50 strangers he found online, to rape his loving wife for nearly 100 times, during the course of about 10 years.
Cuckolding itself is not a crime, simply because it is a consensual sexual practice.
As long as all parties involved are consenting adults and there is no coercion, deception, or harm, it is considered a legitimate sexual lifestyle choice.
But what Dominique Pelicot did to his wife, isn't cuckolding.
Having strangers engaging in coitus with his wife without her consent, is certainly a crime.
To do what he did, Pelicot, a 71-year-old man, literally drugged his wife.
When his wife fell unconscious, he then opened the doors of their home in Mazan, a town in southern France, to men he met online, and have them do whatever they pleased to his wife, while he filmed everything.
Pelicot, who received pleasure from watching his wife engaged in sexual activities with those men, also sold some of the 'sex tapes' to the internet.
Pelicot’s wife, 72-year-old Gisèle, was unaware of the abuse until the police informed her in 2020.
Her lawyer, Antoine Camus, stated that she has no memory of the rapes.
Things were only discovered after Pelicot was investigated after he was caught filming up women’s skirts in a supermarket. When he was apprehended, red handed, the police found thousands of photos and videos documenting the assaults he made to his wife, on his devices.
An investigation that was following this, opened case where Gisèle was made aware of the abuse she had endured for almost ten years.
According to a French publication, the court documents revealed that investigators said the victim was assaulted while unconscious in at least 92 incidents, involving no fewer than 72 men, with ages ranging from 26 to 74.
During the first trial, the authorities have identified and charged 51 of the suspects.
Gisèle appeared in a courtroom in Avignon, France, for the opening of the trial, wearing a pair of sunglasses, accompanied by her daughter and two sons by her side..
At the court, until December, the woman has to come face-to-face with her accused abusers for the first time, most of whom are complete strangers to her.
In the dock, the men accused of taking part in these rapes sat with their heads down.
During the trial, prosecutors said the defendant recruited men from the internet to rape his wife, after drugging her with sleeping pills and anti-anxiety medication.
Because of this, Pelicot faces nine charges including several counts of rape with aggravating circumstances, the drugging of a victim to commit rape, and the sharing of images related to those assaults.
Prosecutors were able to put together a case because Dominique documented a number of the alleged assaults on camera.
"He recognizes that he’s done what he has done," his lawyer, Béatrice Zavarro said.
"There was not an ounce of contestation during the whole investigation."
On his defense, court documents showed that Pelicot has told investigators that the other men were all aware his wife had been drugged without her knowledge. However, a number of other defendants deny this claim.
One of the men, Christophe Huguenin-Virchaux, said through his lawyer, that he "admits that sexual relations did in fact take place," but that they took place as part of a "sexual game between a husband and his wife that he was invited to," adding that he was "not aware that Gisèle was drugged or under medication."
The trial is being held publicly at the victim's request.
Gisèle could have requested the trial be held privately, but her lawyer, Stephane Babonneau, said that Gisèle "wanted it to be a public trial so that everyone can hear and get an idea of the excuses given by men in such circumstances.”
Gisèle wants to raise awareness about sexual abuse and the dangers of drug-induced blackouts.
According to Babonneau, Gisèle aims to shift the burden of shame onto the perpetrators.
In response to the case, a lot of people, most of whom are women, held protests in cities across France to voice their support for Gisèle, whose husband is charged with repeatedly drugging and raping her.
The case has horrified France, especially as many of the co-accused are seemingly ordinary men with everyday jobs, with some of the suspects still remaining at large.
Gisèle’s daughter said that she has started an awareness campaign called M’endors Pas, meaning "Don’t put me to sleep" on drug-facilitated sexual assault.
Pelicot has admitted to the charges against him.
The men on trial are facing up to 20 years in prison if convicted.