Rape trial in France will hear woman's testimony of decade-long abuse

A woman who says she was drugged by her now ex-husband so that she could be raped by other men while she was unconscious is expected to testify Thursday before a panel of French judges on her decade-long ordeal.

Her former spouse, Dominique Plicot, now 71, and 50 other men are standing trial on charges of rape and face up to 20 years in prison. The trial started on Monday in the southern city of Avignon and is expected to run until December.

Gisle Plicot and her husband of 50 years were living in their family home in a small town in Provence with their three children. But in late 2020, her world collapsed.

A security agent caught her husband taking photos of women's crotches in a supermarket, leading investigators to search Dominique Plicot's phone and computer, where they found thousands of photographs and videos of men appearing to rape his then-wife, Gisle, in their home while she appears to be unconscious.

The Associated Press doesn't generally identify victims of sexual abuse