Man Accused of Raping French Woman Who Was Drugged by Her Husband Testifies He Thought ‘It Was a Game’

Dominique Pelicot has been accused of drugging his wife Gisèle Pelicot and inviting dozens of men to rape her between 2011 and 2020

Christophe SIMON/getty

Gisele Pelicot

A man identified only as Lionel R. appeared in court in Avignon, France on Thursday, Sept. 19, and claimed Dominique Pelicot told him that his wife Gisèle liked having sex with other men while sedated, according to the UK paper The Times
Dominique, 71, has been accused of drugging his wife, 72, and inviting dozens of men to rape her over the course of nearly a decade
“I never imagined that she might not be part of this game,” Lionel told the court, per the outlet

One of the dozens of men accused of raping a woman who was drugged by her husband told a court he thought he was involved in a “game.”

A man identified only as Lionel R., a grocery store worker and father of three, was the first of the accused to testify in the mass rape trial and admitted to a court in Avignon, France, that he had raped Gisèle Pelicot in 2018, but said he had not intended to, according to French outlet France 24 and UK newspapers The Times and The Guardian.

Dominique Pelicot confessed to his crimes earlier this week after being accused of drugging his wife Gisèle, 72, over the course of nearly a decade and inviting dozens of men to rape her. Authorities have alleged Gisèle was raped by 83 different men and was assaulted at least 92 times, The Times previously reported.

Appearing in court on Thursday, Sept. 19, Lionel, 44, claimed Dominique, 71, told him that his wife liked having sex with other men while sedated, according to the UK paper.

CHRISTOPHE SIMON/AFP via Getty

Scene outside the Avignon courthouse on Sept. 17

Related: Man Who Drugged Wife and Invited Men to Rape Her Is Hospitalized on Day He Was Supposed to Take Stand

He told the court of Dominique, per France 24, “He tells me that he’s in a relationship, he makes me a rather unusual proposal to have sex with his wife, he tells me that she’ll be asleep, talks to me about sleeping pills, tells me that she takes them or that he gives them to her, it’s not clear. I’m not asking too many questions, I was convinced it was a game at the time.”

“There was talk of medical drugs. Sometimes of her taking them and sometimes of him administering them to her,” Lionel added, according to The Times and The Guardian. “I never imagined that she might not be part of this game … My greatest error was not to ensure that she was conscious and consenting.”

Per The TimesLionel told the court he was invited to the couple’s home in Mazan, near Avignon, and had sex with Dominque’s wife for 30 minutes upon his instructions. But he claimed when Gisèle began to move, Dominique “told me to leave the room, and that’s when I realized that something was wrong,” Lionel said.

“Since I never obtained Mrs. Pelicot’s consent, I have no choice but to accept the facts,” he continued, per the outlet. “When I got in my car that day, I didn’t say to myself, ‘I’m going to rape this woman.’ ”

Offering an apology to Gisèle, Lionel added, “I am sorry, I can only imagine the nightmare you’ve lived through… and I am part of this nightmare.”

CHRISTOPHE SIMON/AFP via Getty

Gisèle Pelicot (far center) in court alongside her daughter Caroline Darian

Related: Wife of Man on Trial for Drugging and Inviting Dozens of Men to Rape Her Says She’s Now a ‘Heap of Ruins’

On Tuesday, Sept. 17, Dominique appeared in court and said in his first testimony: “I am a rapist like the others in this room,” per the BBC, France 24 and French outlet The Parisian.

As reported by the BBC on Sept. 17, 15 of the 50 defendants at the trial admitted having to rape, while most have just claimed they’d participated in sexual acts.

“They all knew, they cannot say the contrary,” Dominique told the court, per the outlet.

“They all knew her condition before they came, they knew everything, they can’t say otherwise,” Dominique added, according to The Parisian.

Want to keep up with the latest crime coverage? Sign up for PEOPLE’s free True Crime newsletter for breaking crime news, ongoing trial coverage and details of intriguing unsolved cases.

“Even if it’s paradoxical, I never considered my wife as an object, unfortunately, the videos show the opposite,” he said, per the outlet, adding that he regrets what he did.

The alleged acts are reported to have taken place between 2011 and 2020.

As previously reported by PEOPLE, Gisèle was unaware of the abuse before police discovered thousands of photos and recordings on her husband’s computer in 2020. As reported by The Timesthe discovery came amid accusations that Dominique had filmed up three women’s skirts in a grocery store.

If you or someone you know has been sexually assaulted, please contact the National Sexual Assault Hotline at 1-800-656-HOPE (4673) or go to rainn.org.

For more People news, make sure to sign up for our newsletter!

Read the original article on People.